It's nothing to howl about

Howell says Game 5 is a thing of the past

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Groggy from a late-night flight that didn't touch down here until dawn, and groggier still from blowing a seven-run lead just seven outs away from clinching their first World Series berth, the Tampa Bay Rays began the process of regrouping from Thursday night's devastating 8-7 loss to the Red Sox in the fifth game of the American League Championship Series.

Asked about the mood on the flight home from Boston, Carlos Peña said, "It was good. There were a lot of people sleeping soundly, which was a good sign."

With a chuckle, he added, "Nobody was twitching or anything."

The delirious roar of the Fenway Park crowd of 38,437 still ringing in their ears, the AL East champions returned to the friendly confines of Tropicana Field yesterday in the hopes of closing out this series tonight in front of their home crowd. Cowbells, Rayhawks, Dickie V., and all.

"I think it would definitely be sweet, definitely," said 26-year-old righthander James Shields, nicknamed "Big Game James," who will face no bigger game, no bigger task than to help the Rays earn redemption for their Game 5 debacle.

"This crowd has really shown up the last month and a half, two months of the season," Shields said. "For us to do it in front of them, I mean, we clinched the [Division Series] in Chicago and now we have a chance to clinch the ALCS here, and I think that's great for the city."

And, it would seem, a perfect elixir for the Rays' battered psyches.

But something funny happened to the Rays on their flight home. They developed an acute case of short-term amnesia. So they expressed no recollection of how their bullpen wasted Scott Kazmir's sterling starting effort (6 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts on 109 pitches) by coughing up a 7-0 lead, giving up eight runs on nine hits.

"We played well for three games in Fenway under very difficult circumstances, and furthermore, won two out of three games, so all of that I really think is a positive," manager Joe Maddon said. "The negative is our bullpen, which has been one of the strongest aspects of our team all year, had a tough night, and that's going to happen on occasion.

"[The Red Sox are] the defending champs, they've got the heart of a champion, and they came back last night and they beat us. But that's where it's got to end. We have a game to play. We have a very good pitcher pitching for us and we're looking forward to the game."

The Sox recorded their 11th walkoff victory in postseason play, the second-largest comeback in playoff history.

"I was disappointed," said Shields. "I think we did a great job of holding them for the first six innings, and you know, sometimes that happens. That's baseball. That's the way it works.

"We're going to move on. We're feeling pretty confident, and we're still up, 3-2, and we're going to go from there, so I'm ready to go tomorrow."

The bullpen's failure undermined Maddon's decision to go with Kazmir as his Game 5 starter over Shields.

In his last outing against the Sox, Game 1 of the ALCS eight days ago, Shields went 7 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on six hits but dropped a 2-0 decision to Daisuke Matsuzaka. He'll pitch on seven days' rest.

"I like him getting a little extra rest right now," Maddon said. "He's exceeded his number of innings last year [215] by a bit, although I think the number of pitches are pretty close, the number of pitches he actually threw last year [3,177] over the course of the season [vs. this season: 3,131]. So I kind of like where he's at right now.

"My experience with him more recently is that even when he gets a couple of extra days, it doesn't impact his command at all. He's all about his command. I think the velocity will be there, and he's going to be fine. I like him actually with a day or possibly two extra days' rest right now. I know he might tell you otherwise, but I know he's going to be strong."

Maddon will need Shields to deal from a position of strength to help the Rays forget Game 5.

"You know, I've thrown a lot of innings this year, so I don't think it's definitely harmful," Shields said. "But you know, it's playoff time. No matter if it's four days' rest, three days' rest, seven days' or 12 days' rest, I'm ready to go whenever."

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.