Soaking up spooky season

The GIST: Not done yet. The Tampa Bay Rays (down 3-1) staved off elimination at home last night, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4–3 in 12 innings to force Game 5 tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Let’s go around the horn as both team’s quests for a first-ever World Series title roll on.

😱 Second baseman Ben Williamson walks it off for Tampa Bay: The Brewers were three outs away from a sweep, but the Rays said not so fast, plating two runs in the bottom of the 12th to keep their season alive. Right fielder Jonny DeLuca provided the game-tying hit before Williamson recorded the game-winner with the bases loaded. October baseball isn’t for the faint of heart…or the uncaffeinated.

👀 Brewers ace Jacob Misorowski to start Game 5: Milwaukee will have another chance to clinch with their Cy Young frontrunner on the mound tonight. “The Miz” had a strong five-inning outing against the Rays in Game 1, but it was the Brewers bullpen that really came in clutch in that dub.

• And while that staff will be taxed after last night’s marathon, the Brew Crew still boast the best ERA in the postseason. If they get the job done, it’ll be because of their arms.

• As for Tampa Bay, they’ll need more from their big hitters to keep their hopes alive — especially with their pitching situation still TBD. Never back down, never what?

The GIST: Call in sick, take an extra long lunch, or stream under your desk because Game 6 of the WNBA Finals is tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. ET — and the Golden State Valkyries (up 3-2) could be crowned champs. Here are the storylines lighting up the group chat ahead of tipoff in Atlanta.

🔄 Turnovers could decide the series: The team that’s taken care of the ball has won every game this series, including Monday’s Game 5: The Valkyries forced the Atlanta Dream into 17 turnovers, flipping those giveaways into 21 points. This is the lowest-scoring Finals in league history (more on that below), so every possession is paramount.

🗑️ Shooting has been historically awful: Prior to this series, only two WNBA teams had ever won a Finals game shooting worse than 34% from the field. That brings us to 2026, where two of the five games have been won with those field-goal metrics.

• What’s more, both teams shot at or below that threshold twice this series, with Atlanta shooting 29.2% in Game 5, the fourth-worst mark in Finals history. No one can buy a bucket.

👀 Players who could move the needle in tomorrow’s Game 6: Kiah Stokes was that girl for the Valkyries on Monday, tying her season-high of 13 points and hitting some momentum-changing threes. Not known for her offensive prowess, the warden of Valkatraz proved to be the difference maker on offense as GSV star Gabby Williams’ shooting slump continued.

• As for Atlanta, Angel Reese must channel her Game 5 frustration into a productive Game 6. Reese averaged 25.5 points in the Dream’s two Finals wins, but managed just 9.7 points on average in their losses. As Barbie goes, so go the Dream.

🏈 You have opinions, why not put them to work? In partnership with the NFL, our free-to-play Weekly Pick’ems game is your chance to call the winners, compete with fellow GISTers, and vie for season-long prizes.

• Just ask our Week 3 winner, John, who quipped, "I guess not thinking too hard as a strategy worked!" Enough said.

💌 Consider this your official invite. Nothing to lose, lots to learn, and a whole NFL community to gain. May the Hail Marys be ever in your favor — make your picks now.