Red Sox have big Mo

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Joe Maddon, manager of the Angels’ double-A affiliate at Midland, Texas, in 1986, was in Anaheim Stadium, a few rows behind the first base dugout, for Game 5 of the American League Championship Series that October.

The Angels, with a three-games-to-one advantage, took a 5-2 lead into the ninth inning and were one out away from what would have been their first World Series berth when Dave Henderson hit a two-run home run off Donnie Moore to cap Boston’s four-run rally.

“Everything was going swimmingly,” Maddon, now the Tampa Bay manager, said Friday in Tropicana Field, “and all of a sudden, the one-handed home run to left-central, and things changed.”

Did they ever. The Red Sox went on to a 7-6, 11-inning victory in Game 5 and steamrollered the Angels, 10-4 and 8-1, in Games 6 and 7 at Fenway Park to win the series.

The Rays are hoping to avoid a similar fate after an even more traumatic ALCS Game 5 loss Thursday night at Fenway.

With a seven-run lead in the seventh inning, seven outs away from their first World Series berth, Tampa Bay suffered an epic collapse, the Red Sox scoring eight runs in the last three innings for a stunning 8-7 victory that forced Game 6 tonight.

The Rays still lead the series, three games to two, and their ace, James Shields, will oppose Boston right-hander Josh Beckett tonight in their domed stadium, where they had the best home record (57-24) in baseball this season.

But momentum in the series has swung dramatically toward the Red Sox, who overcame a 3-1 ALCS deficit to beat Cleveland last year and a 3-0 ALCS deficit to beat the New York Yankees in 2004, going on to win the World Series each year, and who seem fully capable of another resurrection this October.

“Every situation is unique, and it always depends on how you react to the moment,” Maddon said, when asked to compare the emotional jolt of Thursday night to Game 5 in 1986.

“We’ve reacted well to adversity, some difficult moments. The fact we’re coming home is a difference regarding that [1986] series. We feel good about coming out [tonight]. We have everything set up appropriately.”

They did Thursday too, with starter Scott Kazmir throwing six shutout innings before handing a 7-0 lead to one of baseball’s best relief corps.

But then Maddon made like Gene Mauch, his questionable late-game decisions fueling criticism across the country.

With two on, a run in and the dangerous David Ortiz up in the seventh, Maddon left right-hander Grant Balfour, who was clearly overthrowing, in to face the left-handed slugger instead of going to left-handers J.P. Howell or Trever Miller.

Ortiz crushed a three-run homer, pulling Boston to within 7-4.

Maddon then went to his closer, Dan Wheeler, hoping to coax a seven-out save from the right-hander, even though he had plenty of other options.

J.D. Drew’s two-run homer and Coco Crisp’s RBI single tied it in the eighth. In the ninth, Maddon finally went to Howell, but Evan Longoria’s throwing error allowed Kevin Youkilis to reach second and Drew’s RBI single over right fielder Gabe Gross’ head capped the biggest postseason comeback in 79 years and gave Boston a victory that ranks with Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, which Carlton Fisk won with a 12th-inning homer off the left-field foul pole, in Red Sox postseason lore.

“Last night was really, really special, but the big picture is still out there,” said Beckett, who has struggled because of a rib-cage strain this October, giving up 12 earned runs and 18 hits, including five homers, in 9 1/3 innings of two playoff starts.

“We’re trying to do something better than what we did [Thursday] night. Obviously, for one day, that’s about as good as it can get. But as far as an eight-month season, the only thing that would make us happy right now is for us to win our last game.”

Some of the locals don’t think the Red Sox are capable. Under the banner headline “Heartbreaker” in Friday’s St. Petersburg Times, the subhead for a front-page column read: “No worries. Boston’s victory will likely just delay the Rays’ party.”

Maybe they missed last year’s ALCS, when Boston outscored Cleveland, 30-5, in the last three games, or the 2004 ALCS, when the Red Sox went 14 innings to win Game 5 and won the last two games at Yankee Stadium. And, of course, there was 1986.

These Red Sox seem to do their best work when backed into a corner, so the Rays’ 3-2 advantage seems flimsy at best.

But the Rays did hold off the Red Sox and Yankees to win the AL East when everyone thought they’d succumb to the traditional powers, and they did recover from a seven-game losing streak before the All-Star break, so maybe they’re young and naive -- and talented -- enough to rebound from Thursday night.

“We’ve dealt with adversity all year long, and the way we’ve come back each time has been impeccable,” Shields said. “I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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ALCS TONIGHT

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Update: One reason Rays Manager Joe Maddon flip-flopped Scott Kazmir and James Shields for Games 5 and 6 is that Shields went 9-2 with a 2.59 ERA at home this season. The right-hander went 2-2 with a 5.85 ERA in four starts against the Red Sox this season but pitched well against them in Game 1 of the ALCS, giving up two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings of a 2-0 loss. David Ortiz (seven for 14, two homers) and Dustin Pedroia (five for 10) both have .500 career averages against Shields. Josh Beckett won all four of his playoff starts in 2007 but hasn’t been nearly as dominant this October, yielding 12 earned runs and 18 hits, including five homers, in 9 1/3 innings of two playoff starts.

-- Mike DiGiovanna