KC Royals: MLB Dream Bracket 2 update

KC Royals fans have a few teams to cheer for in the MLB Dream Bracket 2. While not all games will go as hoped, a few have had a good start.

The MLB Dream Bracket 2 has officially kicked off and a couple of KC Royals teams battled it out to make it past the first round, along with another Kansas City favorite, the Monarchs.

Just to recap a bit, the MLB started its Dream Bracket series with a tournament of baseball organizations, each lineup consisting of great players from the organization’s history. Now, in the Dream Bracket 2, teams from specific seasons are facing off against each other to see who will take home the championship. All games are simulated through Out of the Park Baseball.

As far as Kansas City goes, the 1985 and 2015 Royals made the tournament, along with the 1942 Kansas City Monarchs. The first round has now taken place, and while not all the Kansas City teams came out on top, two will be moving on.

1942 Monarchs

The Monarchs were able to take down the 2005 White Sox, but it wasn’t without a fight. They were down early in the 7 game series, but stretched out to game 7 and won 4 games to 3.

Surprisingly, Satchel Paige struggled with pitching throughout the series, giving up a decent amount of hits. He was able to collect the game one win though, even after giving up 5 runs. Luckily Todd Strong hit a grand slam giving Kansas City the lead and helping them secure a win in the first game.

The rest of the series was a back and forth, though the Monarchs seemed to have continued struggles with pitching. They were able to turn it on, though, for games 6 and 7 with good pitching from Hilton Smith and Booker McDaniel, holding the White Sox to 1 and 2 runs, helping secure first-round win.

The Monarchs will face off against the 1998 Yankees in the next round of play.

2015 Royals

Unfortunately for the 2015 Royals, things did not turn around as hoped. The team lost in the first round to the 2001 Seattle Mariners, 4 games to 2. The Mariners struck first, roughing up Edinson Volquez in game one.

The ’15 Royals saw some life in game two, though. Mike Moustakas went 4-4 with 2 home runs and Salvador Perez hit a grand slam in the third inning, helping secure the lead for the Royals to win 12 to 7.

The ’15 Royals couldn’t seem to continue scoring, though. They were able to take the win in game 4, winning 1-0, their only score coming from an Alex Gordon home run along with Chris Young providing a good start. In games 5 and 6 though, the Mariners secured their win, outscoring the ’15 Royals across both games 13-3.

1985 Royals

Luckily, the 1985 Royals were able to keep some points on the board. In fact, the ’85 Royals were able to complete the sweep against the 1972 Athletics. Game 1 was an easy win with Brett Saberhagen and Dan Quisenberry covering the mound for the Royals.

George Brett had a decent series and really helped to secure the wins in games 2 and 3, driving in 3 runs in game 2 and getting things started with a home run when they were down in the 9th in game 3.

Unsurprisingly, Kansas City saw strong pitching performances across the board as well, from pitchers like Charlie Leibrandt, Mark Gubicza, Bud Black, and Steve Farr. Next, the ’85 Royals will face the ’54 Indians in round 2.

While it’s not live baseball, some of these simulated games tournaments provide an interesting look at games that could never really happen. It will be interesting to see how teams like the ’42 Monarchs and the ’85 Royals continue to play against teams from all different eras.

Keep checking back for updates and follow along with the MLB Dream Bracket 2.