Rays to start Kazmir, not Shields, in Game 5

At the time, the Rays had never finished better than fourth or come close to a .500 record, let alone a playoff berth.

"It was an easy decision for me," he said. "I could just see -- you could just see that we really had something here. ... We have something that's going to last for a long time with all the young guys we have that are still developing."

Maddon said it was part of the plan all along to shuffle the rotation if they went up 3-0, in part because of the travel day Friday that would allow the bullpen to recuperate if Kazmir can't go deep into the game.

"At any moment he can just catch fire," Maddon said. "If he's throwing the ball over the plate, he's making them swing the bat, I'll be happy. Obviously, if walks start popping up, that's the indicator. ... I'll be probably less tolerant tomorrow than I would have been at any other point."

Kazmir also has better numbers at Fenway: He is 4-4 with a 3.02 ERA at Fenway, vs. a 2-3 record and 4.29 ERA against the Red Sox at home. Shields is 0-3 in three starts with a 10.13 ERA at Fenway in his career;

"This has not been his most effective place to pitch, and he's been very effective at home," Maddon said. "Kaz has been good here. And again, you look at what Kaz has done recently, and I understand everybody's trepidation, but I feel strongly about it, we all do. We feel it's the right thing to do right now."