In 1960, the Pirates needed seven games to prevail over the favored Yankees in the World Series. It also took them seven games to advance past a fellow championship team in the first round of the MLB Dream Bracket 2: Dream Seasons.

The 1960 Pirates narrowly escaped their opening series against the 1980 Phillies, winning Game 7 -- not on a Bill Mazeroski home run this time, although Hal Smith once again hit a huge homer late in the deciding game. Don Hoak (11-for-25), Dick Groat (9-for-25) and Roberto Clemente (10-for-30) helped lead the way, and starter Bob Friend won both of his starts for this famous championship squad.

• Box score and game summary

The ’60 Bucs are moving on to the Round of 32 to face the 1969 Cubs, who swept the ’54 Giants to begin this 64-team, best-of-seven simulation tournament featuring two of the best post-World War II teams from each of the 30 current Major League franchises as well as three Negro Leagues teams and the 1994 Montreal Expos.

• Full bracket and info

The 64-team bracket is divided into the American League and National League, with two “regions” for each league. The 1960 Pirates are in NL Region 1, while the ’79 Pirates -- who play the 2003 Marlins on Friday -- are in NL Region 2. 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).

Here’s a look at how the simulated series went down.

• Complete Dream Bracket 2 rosters

Game 1: Pirates 4, Phillies 2
The Pirates scored four runs against 1980 National League Cy Young Award winner Steve Carlton, no small feat considering the Phillies ace went 24-9 with a 2.34 ERA and 286 strikeouts in 304 innings that year. Friend outdueled Carlton by allowing only two runs on five hits over eight innings, and Roy Face secured the save. Center fielder Bill Virdon hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Friend chipped in at the plate, too, hitting a two-run double in the fifth.

Game 2: Phillies 6, Pirates 3
Vern Law, the 1960 NL Cy Young winner, gave up five runs (three earned) while working only two innings. Mazeroski, one of the best defensive second basemen of all time, committed an error. Need any more proof this was a weird day for the 1960 Pirates? Well, they were held to only six hits by Phillies starter Dick Ruthven, although Clemente was responsible for two of them.

Game 3: Pirates 5, Phillies 4
Starter Harvey Haddix stepped up to put the Bucs back on top, holding the Phillies to two runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings. He got all the run support he needed in the first inning, as the Pirates put up five in the opening frame. Clemente and first baseman Dick Stuart each homered, and Mazeroski drove in a pair of runners with a double.

Game 4: Phillies 3, Pirates 1
The Pirates were shut down by Phillies starter Marty Bystrom, who evened the series as he allowed one run on eight hits and one walk while striking out five over eight innings. Pirates starter Vinegar Bend Mizell turned in a quality start, allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk with six strikeouts in six innings. But the Bucs only managed to score in the first on a two-out single by Stuart.

Game 5: Pirates 4, Phillies 2
Friend once again outdueled Carlton, holding the Phillies to two runs while striking out nine over 5 2/3 innings as he picked up his second win. Most of the damage done against Carlton came in the second, when Hoak bashed a three-run homer, then Clemente added an RBI single in the fifth to provide some breathing room for Friend.

Game 6: Phillies 10, Pirates 3
It wasn’t a great series for Law, who allowed five earned runs on nine hits while lasting only three innings in his second loss. Four different Phillies, including Mike Schmidt, recorded three hits in this lopsided affair. Ruthven held the Bucs to three runs over six innings, and Bob Walk, a future Pirates pitcher and broadcaster, worked the final three innings for Philadelphia.

Game 7: Pirates 6, Phillies 5
Neither starting pitcher worked deep into the game, with Haddix giving up two runs in four innings for the Pirates and Larry Christenson allowing one run in 4 1/3 innings for the Phillies. Still, the Pirates carried a 4-2 lead into the eighth. But the Phillies stormed ahead against Face on three straight RBI singles by Manny Trillo, Larry Bowa and Bob Boone.

Up came Smith to lead off the bottom of the eighth against the lefty Tug McGraw, and Smith -- just like he did in Game 7 in 1960 -- delivered a massive home run that may not be remembered as well as what came afterward. Smith’s homer tied the game, then Virdon singled and moved to second on a single by Groat. Virdon was replaced by pinch-runner Joe Cristopher, who dashed home to score on a single by Clemente. Right-hander Tom Cheney walked Schmidt to lead off the ninth, but he secured the series-clinching save when Garry Maddox grounded into a double play.