’01 Mariners topple Sox for Bracket finals berth

While Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martinez and Bret Boone were the big offensive stars of the 2001 Mariners club, once again it was that squad’s depth that proved to be the difference as Seattle eliminated the ‘04 World Series champion Red Sox on Wednesday to advance to the championship round of MLB’s second simulated Dream Bracket tournament.

? Box scores and game summaries

The 2001 Mariners -- a group that won a record-tying 116 games before being upset by the Yankees in the ALCS -- have proven to be a force in the virtual world and will face the 1986 Mets for the right to call themselves the paragon of the 64-team tournament.

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The Mariners lost Game 5 of their semifinal round against the 2004 Red Sox to fall behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. But the squad came back with a pair of wins at Fenway Park as third baseman Mark McLemore drove in shortstop Carlos Guillen for the winning run in Game 6 and first baseman John Olerud’s two-run homer was the difference in a 2-0 victory in Game 7.

Now Seattle heads to the championship round, with Games 1-4 set to be played out on Thursday, with the final three games (if necessary) on Friday.

The simulated competition, featuring many of the greatest teams in baseball history, is being produced by Out of the Park Baseball 21, MLB’s most realistic strategy game (PC and Mac).

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Here’s how the series between the 2004 Red Sox and ’01 Mariners played out:

Game 1: Red Sox 5, Mariners 0
Freddy Garcia had gone 5-0 in the first four rounds of the tournament, but the Mariners’ No. 1 starter saw that streak snapped by Curt Schilling as the Red Sox dominated the opener at Fenway Park. Schilling allowed just two hits and struck out nine over six innings, and that was all the hits the Mariners managed against four Boston hurlers. Garcia lasted just five frames as he gave up two runs on eight hits, including a leadoff homer by Kevin Millar in the second as the Red Sox led from start to finish.

Game 2: Red Sox 5, Mariners 4
Martinez and Mike Cameron hit solo homers off Pedro Martinez, and Seattle carried a 4-3 lead into the seventh, but Boston rallied against the Mariners’ normally stout bullpen to take a 2-0 series lead. Millar tied the game with an RBI single off Jeff Nelson in the seventh, and Bill Mueller put Boston ahead for good with a leadoff homer off Nelson in the eighth. Olerud went 3-for-5 and Cameron was 2-for-3 with a double -- in addition to his sixth home run of the postseason -- but the Mariners couldn’t take advantage of 14 hits and five walks as they stranded 15 runners in the game.

Game 3: Mariners 4, Red Sox 3
As the series shifted to Seattle, this time it was the Mariners rallying late as they overcame a 3-0 deficit with two runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth. Guillen’s two-run single with the bases loaded in the eighth saved Seattle from falling behind 3-0 in the series, with Kazuhiro Sasaki working around a leadoff walk to nail down the save in the ninth. Guillen and Ichiro both went 3-for-4, while Boone delivered an RBI double in the sixth.

Game 4: Mariners 7, Red Sox 4
Boone’s three-run homer off reliever Alan Embree in the seventh inning snapped a 4-4 tie as Seattle evened the series back up. The Mariners trailed 4-2 before their offense awakened late, with Stan Javier going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, Martinez 2-for-4 with a double and McLemore 2-for-3 with two walks, three runs and an RBI triple. The Red Sox scored four runs (three earned) off Joel Pineiro in 4 2/3 innings, but Seattle’s bullpen slammed the door from there as Norm Charlton, John Halama, Nelson, Arthur Rhodes and Sasaki allowed just two hits over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, with Sasaki picking up his ninth save of the tournament.

Game 5: Red Sox 2, Mariners 1
Schilling outdueled Garcia again as Boston won the final game in Seattle to take a 3-2 series lead. The Mariners managed just six hits, with two each by Martinez and Boone. Schilling allowed three hits over 6 1/3 scoreless frames to win his second game of the series, while Garcia took the loss -- his second this series after entering it 5-0 -- after allowing four hits and two runs.

Game 6: Mariners 3, Red Sox 2
As the series shifted back to Fenway, the Mariners staved off elimination when the offense cashed in on a Guillen leadoff double in the eighth inning thanks to a single by McLemore for the winning run. McLemore also singled and scored in Seattle’s two-run first off Martinez, as the Mariners jumped on the Red Sox’s ace with three hits in the frame, including a double by Martinez and RBI single by Olerud before a sacrifice fly from Boone. Jamie Moyer picked up the win with seven innings of two-run ball, and Sasaki nailed down his 10th save of the tournament.

Game 7: Mariners 2, Red Sox 0
Olerud’s two-run homer in the first inning off Bronson Arroyo proved the difference as Aaron Sele and three relievers blanked the Sox on three hits to clinch the series on Boston’s home turf. Sele allowed all three hits and a trio of walks in 6 1/3 innings before Nelson, Rhodes and Charlton finished things off with just one walk allowed in 2 2/3 frames. Olerud’s blast followed a two-out double by Martinez as the Mariners jumped out early and held on. Ichiro accounted for two of Seattle’s five hits on the day.

Series summary
Seattle’s balanced offensive attack again proved beneficial. Martinez hit .308 (8-for-26) with a home run, three doubles and six runs scored, while Boone led the team with six RBIs while hitting .250 (7-for-28) with a homer and two doubles. Ichiro batted .323 (10-for-31) but oddly didn’t score a run or get an RBI and was caught stealing on three of four attempts.

The Mariners’ pitching was big again as well as they held Boston sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez to a combined .189 (10-for-53) with one double and three RBIs. Bullpen depth loomed large as Sasaki earned three saves to remain unscored on in the tournament. And with Sasaki being used so heavily, manager Lou Piniella went to Charlton for the series-clinching save, and that worked out as well. Eight Mariners relievers combined to allow just four runs over 22 2/3 innings for a 1.59 ERA in the series.