ST. PETERSBURG _ Having lost a season-high five straight games, and looked quite bad in doing so, the Rays needed something to stop the downward spiral on Sunday.
And they got it from Travis d'Arnaud, a second-inning grand slam that sparked them to a 4-2 win over the White Sox, and a change of mood and fortunes.
Blake Snell pitched in as well, tossing six shutout innings, and the trio of Andrew Kittredge, Emilio Pagan and Adam Kolarek teamed to get the final nine outs, which has been something of a challenge in their month-long skid.
The win improved the Rays to 57-45, and kept them within two games of the top AL wild-card they previously held. Also they moved to two games ahead of the Red Sox team that rolls into the Trop on Monday for the first of six games over the next 11 days.
D'Arnaud is about the only Rays hitter coming up big of late, delivering a walkoff homer on July 6 to beat the Yankees, then again on July 15 in New York, hitting a team-record tying three, including a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth to put them ahead to stay.
Hitting overall, and especially with runners in scoring position, has been a challenge for the Rays.
And they didn't do much else on Sunday, rapping just three total before an announced crowd of 14,987 on Christmas in July day at the Trop.
The second inning started benignly, with a four-pitch leadoff walk by Yandy Diaz off Chicago starter Dylan Cease and then a single by former Sox slugger Avisail Garcia. Joey Wendle then battled through 10 pitches to draw a walk to load the bases.
Then d'Arnaud launched a 1-1 slider over the leftfield wall.
The homer ended his 0-for-11 skid since the third homer in New York last Monday, and was his 10th in his last 28 games.
Snell was sharp over his six innings, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out 10, but he threw 109 pitches to get the 18 outs. Kittredge allowed two runs in the seventh. Pagan, who gave up the game-tying homer in the ninth Saturday leading to the 2-1 loss, worked the eighth. And Kolarek, surviving a scare on leadoff man Wellington Castillo's fly to deep right, handled the ninth.
