ALDS Takeaways: Brosseau gets last laugh to send Yankees packing

Mike Brosseau's home run in the eighth inning gave the Tampa Bay Rays a 2-1 win in Game 5 over the New York Yankees to advance to the ALCS.

The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees were two juggernauts on a collision course all season, so it's only fitting their American League Division Series came down to a winner-take-all Game 5.

Ultimately it was the Rays who emerged victorious in a pitching duel, advancing to take on the Houston Astros in the ALCS.

Here are some key takeaways from an instant classic.

Brosseau gets revenge by sending Yankees packing

You can't make this up.

Back in September, Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was given a three-game suspension for throwing a 101 m.p.h. fastball near Rays utility man Mike Brosseau's head. The benches cleared in that game, which only increased the animosity between the rival clubs.

Well, it was Brosseau who ended up getting the last laugh. His solo home run off Chapman in the bottom of the eighth was the decisive blow, vaulting the Rays to their 2-1 victory.

Brosseau being the hero is extremely on-brand for the Rays, who are famous for maximizing the talent on their roster and overcoming their small payroll. The 26-year-old lefty killer was undrafted coming out of college, and now he'll forever go down in Tampa Bay baseball lore.

Judge continues assault on elite pitching

Aaron Judge didn't have the post-season he hoped for, but he did come through with a couple big hits for the Yankees. His last hurrah was an opposite-field solo homer in the fourth inning off lights-out reliever Nick Anderson, who only gave up one other long ball all season.

Anderson is just the latest victim on a long list of star pitchers who have been bested by Judge in the post-season.

Lost in the shuffle of their defeat is the fact Judge's home run made history for the Yankees, who hit 17 home runs in the playoffs. That's the most ever hit by a team in its first seven post-season games. The Bronx Bombers certainly lived up to their name, although it wasn't enough to get the job done.

$324 million well spent

New York was looking for a new ace last winter, and Gerrit Cole fit the bill — literally. The Yankees forked over $324 million to secure his services for situations just like Friday.

Cole started Game 5 on short rest and exceeded the lofty expectations we hold him to, firing 5.1 innings of one-hit, one-run ball with nine strikeouts. He didn't have a set pitch count heading into the evening, and manager Aaron Boone allowed him to throw 94 effective ones before handing the ball to the bullpen.

The 30-year-old found himself in trouble in the first inning, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a hit batsman. He then fell behind 3-0 to Joey Wendle but battled back to strike him out, escaping the inning unscathed. From there it was relatively smooth sailing, although Randy Arozarena gave him a real close call at the end of his outing.

Sweet, sweet relief

With no off days in the series, it was always likely the evenly matched ALDS would come down to a battle of the bullpens. New York's relief corps tossed five no-hit innings in Game 4, and the Rays' stable of flamethrowers responded in Game 5.

In typical Rays fashion, manager Kevin Cash brought in Anderson in the third inning, opting to go to his best reliever earlier than pretty much any other team in MLB would have. Aside from the Judge home run, he only gave up one hit in his 2.2 frames. Pete Fairbanks and Diego Castillo tag-teamed the final four innings, surrendering just one hit between them. Cash's bullpen is as deep as they come, and gives him a major strategic advantage in tight games.

Cruel reminder for Pirates fans

The Pittsburgh Pirates are nowhere close to competing in a game of this magnitude, as they are currently one of the worst teams in baseball. Watching Friday's contest had to leave an extra bitter taste in Pittsburgh fans' mouths as a number of ex-Pirates factored into the outcome.

Both of Game 5's starting pitchers — Cole and Tyler Glasnow — used to play for Pittsburgh, and they weren't the only former Buccos to make an impact. Outfielder Austin Meadows, who was an all-star in 2019, got the Rays on the board with a homer off Cole. The lopsided trade that sent Glasnow and Meadows to Tampa in exchange for Chris Archer looks uglier by the day for the Pirates.

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