Astros to play Rays for AL pennant.
SAN DIEGO — Mike Brosseau homered off Aroldis Chapman with one out in the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 2-1 Friday night 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 the game in the seventh inning. Brosseau drove a 100 mph fastball into the left-field seats at Petco Park for just the third hit for the Rays.
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 2008, when they beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
The Rays were 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.”
All-Star Austin Meadows also homered for the Rays, connecting off ace and former Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole in the fifth. Aaron Judge tried to make a leaping catch but jammed his head into a padded overhang.
Judge homered in the fourth. The Yankees only had three hits.
Cole, starting on short rest for the first time in his major league career, struck out nine in 51⁄3 innings.
Winner Diego Castillo followed a hitless eighth with a 1-2-3 ninth, and the celebration was on for the Rays, who dominated the regular-season series against the Yankees 8-2. They took a 2-1 lead in the ALDS before the Yankees forced the deciding fifth game.