Brosseau’s home run puts Tampa Bay into ALCS
SAN DIEGO — Mike Brosseau said he wasn’t seeking revenge against hardthrowing Aroldis Chapman, just the chance to keep playing. He ended up getting both. Brosseau hit a tiebreaking home run off Chapman with one out in the eighth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 21 Friday night to reach the AL Championship Series for the first time in 12 seasons.
The first career postseason homer for the 26yearold utilityman came in a 10pitch atbat against the Yankees’ hardthrowing closer, who entered in the seventh inning. Brosseau drove a 100 mph fastball into the leftfield 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’ 53 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 highfives with his teammates.
“No revenge. We put that in the past,” said Brosseau, who pinchhit 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 corona virus shortened season, while the Yankees had the thirdlargest, $ 84 million. The Rays dominated the regularseason series with the Yankees 82 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 trolled the Yankees by playing Frank Sinatra’s version of “New York, New York,” played at Yankee Stadium after victories, and JayZ’s “Empire State of Mind” featuring Alicia Keys.
After winning the AL Division Series 32, 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.
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.
“Brosseau is such a good dude,” pitcher Tyler Glasnow said. “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.’ … That was probably the most memorable baseball moment I’ve ever been a part of.”
Chapman is the only pitcher in postseason history to allow a goahead homer in the eighth inning or later with his team facing elimination multiple times. He gave up Jose Altuve’s gameending drive in Game 6 of last year’s ALCS.
AllStar Austin Meadows also homered for the Rays, connecting off ace 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.
Cole, starting on short rest for the first time in his major league career, struck out nine in 51⁄ innings.
3 “It’s big disappointment,” said Cole, who signed a $ 324 million, nineyear free agent deal in the offseason. “Really hardfought series that sometimes can make it tougher to swallow, too.”