CHICAGO _ The Rays needed a win under any circumstances.
Frustration mounting as they lost eight straight since an Opening Day victory, the Rays stopped the skid Monday with a 5-4 win over the White Sox.
That they did so on a frigid afternoon, with a short-handed roster, coming off the most deflating of their losses on Sunday made it even better.
There were multiple hands on the win.
Mallex Smith, whose inability to make a catch figured prominently in Sunday's loss, rapped a career-high tying four hits and stole two bases, though he was thrown out twice at the plate.
Chris Archer gave the Rays the good _ though not great _ start they needed, working into the sixth.
Carlos Gomez had two hits and scored two runs. Joey Wendle homered.
And four relievers _ capped by Alex Colome, who blew his first two save opportunities, and made this one way too interesting _ teamed for the final 10 outs.
The game was delayed 21 minutes at the start to allow the White Sox grounds crew to complete a remarkable job preparing a field that was blanketed by more than two inches of snow less than four hours earlier. Still they played in frigid conditions, the 35-degree first-pitch temperature the second coldest in Rays franchise history.
The teams traded runs during much of the afternoon.
The Rays got one in the first when Carlos Gomez singled with two outs and came around to score on a Matt Duffy infield hit. The Sox tied it when Archer loaded the bases in the first on two walks and a hit batter, then allowed a sac fly.
The Rays built a lead to 2-1 in the fourth, when Mallex Smith tripled in Daniel Robertson, then to 4-1 when Wendle, batting glove free as always, homered and Matt Duffy singled in Gomez after he doubled.
The Sox cut the lead right back to one when Yoan Moncada, the Cuban defector who made his home in Gulfport, led off with a single and Nicky Delmonico turned a two-out, 0-2 mistake by Archer into a two-run homer.
The Rays added another run in the sixth as Smith rapped his third hit and came around to score on Denard Span's single to make it 5-3. Then the Sox answered when Luis Garcia reached on Daniel Robertson's error and scored on Omar Narvaez's double.
Archer ended up working 5 2/3, allowing six hits and three walks plus hitting a batter with his 102 pitches. His eight strikeouts moved him past David Price for second on the franchise strikeout list with 1,066. James Shields, who starts Wednesday for the Sox against the Rays, is the leader with 1,250.
He was relieved by Chaz Roe, who was followed by Jose Alvarado, Sergio Romo and Colome.
Colome made it interesting, as he immediately got in trouble with a leadoff walk to Jose Abreu, a single to Nicky Delmonico and then a wild pitch.
But with the tying run on third and the winning run on second, Colome got two ground ball outs, a comebacker by Yolmer Sanchez and a grounder to third by Tim Anderson. He got Luis Garcia on a grounder to first to end it.
The series continues on Tuesday with another matinee, with first pitch at 2:10 eastern time.
