[jg2977]

Folks, I have watched baseball a long time. I have seen comebacks. I have seen collapses. But what just happened at Fenway tonight? This wasn’t a game. This was an emotional hostage situation.
The Red Sox, up 11–5 going to the top of the ninth, looked like the Red Sox that everyone assumed would make the playoffs quietly, confidently. Then along comes Cleveland, a team that, let’s remember, blew a five-run ninth-inning lead in last year’s World Series Game 7, and they orchestrate—literally orchestrate—a miraculous ninth-inning comeback of their own. Seven runs, mind you. Seven runs. Cleveland takes a 12–11 lead.
And you think it’s over? You think Boston’s cycle-hitting Ricky Abrego, who had already hit for the cycle today, would be able to get them out of the hole? Of course not. The Red Sox rally to tie it. Extra innings. But here’s the kicker: two Boston errors in the 10th allow Cleveland to score four more. Four. Four runs. Game over. 16–12. The Indians walk off, Red Sox fans are in therapy, and Ricky Abrego… the guy who went 4-for-6, hit a homer, a triple, a double, scored three, drove in two—he’s left with a memory that is glorious personally, and absolutely bitter professionally.
Let’s break it down: Pat Kresse for Cleveland—home run, triple, double, four RBIs, two runs scored. He is the reason this game exists in your nightmares tonight. And Alex Cruz? The first baseman with the clutch double in the top of the ninth? He’s the punctuation on a sentence that reads: “Cleveland is not done. Cleveland will never be done.”
This game is about history repeating itself, not history teaching a lesson. The Indians—who last year were one out and one strike from a championship—once again force us to confront that momentum, belief, and chaos matter more than talent on paper.
And the Red Sox? They’ve got the numbers. They’ve got the heroics. They’ve got the rookie-of-the-year-level talent in Abrego. But in the playoffs, sometimes the baseball gods aren’t fair. Sometimes, they just remind you that clutch is the only stat that matters.
So here’s the takeaway: Cleveland leads the series 1–0, and if you thought last year’s Game 7 was unforgettable, you just got a reminder that history is a cruel teacher.