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.
