Brosseau, Chapman both downplay 'revenge' narrative

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series courtesy of a game-winning solo home run from Mike Brosseau off of Aroldis Chapman. To some, it seemed like karmic justice, but both players downplayed their shared history.

"The revenge aspect, it's not a thought in my mind," Brosseau said, according to Marly Rivera of ESPN. "We put it in the past and we moved on. We moved just straight to business. The battle that we've had all year with these guys, to go to Game 5 and have such an unbelievably played well-played game, well-executed - you can't script it any better."

In early September, Chapman threw a 101-mph fastball at Brosseau's head, leading to a benches-clearing incident. Chapman was suspended three games for the altercation but his appeal is still being heard.

"I wasn't thinking about (the Brosseau incident) at all," Chapman also added postgame, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "That happened about a month ago. This is the way it worked out. He put a good swing on that pitch. I've got to give him credit."

During Friday's Game 5, with the game tied 1-1, Brosseau worked a 10-pitch at-bat against Chapman in the eighth inning before hitting a go-ahead homer off a 100-mph fastball. The 2-1 lead would go on to be the final score.

The Rays now advance to face the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series starting Sunday at Petco Park with Tampa Bay acting as the home team.