Brosseau homer off Chapman lifts Rays over Yanks, into ALCS
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mike Brosseau said he wasn't seeking revenge against hard-throwing Aroldis Chapman, just the chance to keep playing.
He ended up getting both.
Brosseau hit a dramatic home run off Chapman with one out in the eighth innin g, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 2-1 Friday night in the decisive Game 5 to reach the AL Championship Series for the first time in 12 seasons.
The first career postseason homer for the 26-year-old utilityman came after a 10-pitch at-bat against the Yankees' vaunted, hard-throwing closer, who entered in the seventh inning. Brosseau drove a 100 mph fastball into the left field seats at Petco Park for the Rays' third hit.
Brosseau and Chapman have a history: Chapman threw a 101 mph fastball near Brosseau's head Sept. 1 in the ninth inning of a Rays' 5-3 victory. Chapman likely had nothing against Brosseau personally, but the pitch was an apparent escalation of a feud between the AL East rivals, and it prompted Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash's infamous declaration that he has "a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 miles an hour."
Brosseau pumped his fists and hollered "Yes!" as he began his trot. When he returned to the dugout, there were celebratory body slams and high fives with his teammates.
"No revenge, We put that in the past," said Brosseau, who pinch-hit for JiMan Choi in the sixth and and then stayed in at first base. "We came here to win the series. We came here to move on, to do what we do best, that's play our game."
Tampa Bay had a $29 million payroll, 28th out of the 30 major league teams, this coronavirus-shortened season, while the Yankees had the third-largest, $84 million. The Rays dominated the regular-season series with the Yankees 8-2 and were the AL'S top-seed.
About an hour after the game ended, a number of Rays came back out to the field and dugout with beverages and cigars and are trolled the Yankees by playing Frank Sinatra's version of "New York, New York," played at Yankee
Stadium after victories, and Jay-z's "Empire State of Mind" featuring Alicia Keys.
After winning the AL Division Series 3-2, Tampa Bay will stay in San Diego to face the Houston Astros in the AL Championship Series starting Sunday night. The Rays are in the ALCS for the first time since they beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games in 2008 before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
Tampa Bay was eliminated by the Astros in the ALDS last year. "They've been the team to beat the last few years," Brosseau said. "They knocked us out last year so it will be fun to face them again."
Brosseau was an unlikely hero in a season that has had many twists and turns due to the coronavirus pandemic. After he went undrafted, the Rays signed him in June 2016 for $1,000.
"That was very, like, storybook," Tyler Glasnow said. "That was crazy. Just to go out there and have that long of an at-bat, battle that long with all the history we've had, that's just nuts. I still can't even comprehend it. "Brosseau's drive went 375 feet and just cleared the wall.
"Brosseau is such a good dude," Glasnow added. "It's just so awesome that it was him. He's grinded all year long, kind of had sparing playing time; such a big moment like that was just phenomenal. It's crazy. I blacked out. I was like, 'No. No way.' ... With the crack off the bat, there was kind of a delay and everyone didn't even know how to comprehend it. It was pretty unbelievable. That was probably the most memorable baseball moment I've ever been a part of."
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Brosseau "just pulled off a great at-bat, and that's the beauty sometimes of sport. You get in these situations with two great teams and two great competitors going at it. He got him on a great at-bat. Chappie continued to make pitches, and Brosseau put a great at-bat on him and snuck it out of here."
Chapman is the only pitcher in postseason history to allow a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later with his team facing elimination multiple times. He gave up José Altuve's game-ending drive in Game 6 of last year's ALCS.