Brosseau Homer Off Chapman Lifts Rays Over Yanks, Into ALCS

SAN DIEGO (AP) — 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.

The Rays won the AL Division Series 3-2 and 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. They lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Rays are heading to the ALCS! #CLINCHED pic.twitter.com/lNJiQm1rSY

— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2020

Brosseau and Chapman have a history this season: Chapman threw a 101 mph fastball near Brosseau’s head Sept. 1 in the ninth inning of the 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.”

On the 10th pitch of the at-bat … @mikebrosseau10 delivers! 😱 pic.twitter.com/STyQuOuKj0

— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2020

After Brosseau went undrafted, the Rays signed him in June 2016 for $1,000.

All-Star 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.

ALCS bound! pic.twitter.com/5otAin26qj

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 10, 2020

Judged homered in the fourth.

Cole, starting on short rest for the first time in his major league career, struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings.