Howell shakes off his poor outing
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - He allowed Kevin Youkilis to reach base on a two-out hit and an error, then yielded the decisive RBI single to J.D. Drew in the Red Sox' improbable 8-7 comeback win over the Rays Thursday.
But when he showed up in the home clubhouse at Tropicana Field yesterday, J.P. Howell, the 25-year-old lefthanded reliever from the University of Texas, seemed no worse for the wear after absorbing the loss in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.
"You kind of feel sick, because you can't believe you were part of that," said Howell, referring to the Rays' squandered 7-0 lead in the second-greatest collapse in baseball playoff history. "But at the same time, you go, 'Well, I've been here before.' So if it'd been my first time ever, it would've been really tough to stomach, but we've all been there before when we've struggled, and if you can't bounce back from that, then you wouldn't be here."
Howell was the last of three relievers Joe Maddon summoned after starter Scott Kazmir went six innings. The first, Grant Balfour, lasted only two-thirds of an inning. He gave up four runs on four hits, including a three-run homer by David Ortiz that pulled the Sox within 7-4.
Dan Wheeler, the pride of Warwick, R.I., then got the call to extinguish the fire but allowed three runs on three hits in the eighth, including Drew's two-run homer and Coco Crisp's tying RBI single.
Enter Howell, who got two quick outs in the ninth by inducing Dustin Pedroia to ground out and striking out Ortiz. He was then pushed to the limit by a 10-pitch at-bat by Youkilis, who fouled off four pitches with two strikes before reaching on a single to third and advancing on a throwing error by Evan Longoria.
"That was a great at-bat, man," Howell said. "I kept trying to challenge him with curveballs and heaters and he kept fouling them off. He showed a lot of will. He willed that at-bat and got on base. He willed getting on base. Youk, that's what he does. He's real thickheaded and you've got to do a lot to get in his head, so that was a good battle."
Then Drew sent a rocket that bounced into the right-field stands. Ballgame.
"It was a changeup away," Howell said. "I thought the best thing he could do was yank it foul or miss it, but he stayed on it good."
Asked if he and his bullpen mates had something to prove in Game 6, Howell responded, "Oh, no, for me, I don't think so. No one has to prove anything. When you play 171 games or so like we have, I think that was the first [outing] that was really bad. It was bad timing, but hey, whatever. It happened. I don't know if they know why it happened, but my pitches were up and they got hit. That's what happened for me and I can correct that. They know what they did and they can correct that.
"That's what you do, you correct it and move on."
On top at Trop
One reason Maddon pushed back James Shields's start to Game 6 tonight was the righthander's success at The Trop. In 17 starts there this season, Shields is 9-2 with a 2.59 ERA, including two shutouts.Asked what appealed to him most about pitching at home, Shields said, "I think it's just being comfortable and pitching more times here than I do in other parks. I think I pitched in Fenway a couple times this year, and it's just pitching here more times than not."
Shields owns an 0-3 record with a 10.12 ERA in three career starts at Fenway.
"I feel comfortable here," he said. "I think having the crowds that we've been having lately is definitely a key factor, and our record is really, really good at home [57-24 during the regular season].
Finally, a blemish
Game 5 marked the Rays' first defeat in 39 games in which they established a lead of five or more runs . . . The Rays could take consolation in one fact: Their 27 runs in Fenway Park tied the 2004 Yankees for most road runs in an ALCS . . . Perhaps borrowing a page from his manager's Zen-like approach, Carlos Peña became philosophical when asked how the Rays would attempt to maintain their composure in Game 6. "We chose what we want to focus upon; we have a choice," he said. "And we have been able to choose the right things, which is coming back to the basics. Instead of romanticizing everything and sensationalizing everything, I think that's mostly Shakespeare's job, you know. But we just want to see the ball and hit it and make the play, and make the pitches and enjoy ourselves when we play baseball."