[jg2977]

Ahhh, Tampa Bay. October baseball. The air is crisp… the stakes are high… and suddenly—Boston shows up and eats everything in the refrigerator.
Because let me tell you something: this was not a game. This was an event. A spectacle. A slow, agonizing realization for the Rays that they were not playing against the Red Sox… they were being studied by them.
Ethan Williams? Ohhh yes. Ethan Williams. Six for six. SIX. FOR. SIX. At that point, he’s not a second baseman — he’s a concept. Doubles, singles, a homer — the man was a walking inconvenience. Everywhere Tampa turned, there he was… again.
And Boston? Oh, they were polite about it. Very polite.
Just a run here.
Another run there.
A casual three-run inning.
A seven-run inning.
You know. Normal things you do on the road in a playoff game.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff is out there looking like they misplaced the instructions. Balls flying everywhere. Fielding errors. Extra bases. At one point I’m fairly certain Boston was hitting doubles just out of habit.
And let’s talk about timing — because whenever Tampa Bay thought, “Alright, maybe we’re back in this,” Boston would immediately respond with something rude. A home run. Another double. Someone named Madigan hitting balls into places balls should not go.
Matt Croke? Smooth. Calm. Efficient. Like a man filing paperwork… except the paperwork is runs batted in.
By the seventh inning, this thing had turned into an avalanche. A polite, relentless New England avalanche. And Tampa? Tampa’s just standing there, arms out, saying, “Is this still happening?”
Final score: 15–9, but let’s be honest — it felt worse.
Boston walks out with Game 1, smiles all around, and Tampa Bay is left staring at the scoreboard, wondering how on earth Ethan Williams managed to be everywhere… all at once… six times.
October baseball.
Delicious, isn’t it? 😏⚾