TONIGHT'S GAME: White Sox AT Rays , 7:08 P.M.; TV: FOX SPORTS FLORIDA

By TONY FABRIZIO

afabrizio@tampatrib.com

ST. PETERSBURG - Rays manager Joe Maddon calls him "Zorilla," and after starting the season 4-for-20, Ben Zobrist measured up to his nickname Friday night.

His sixth-inning grand slam off hard-throwing left-hander Matt Thornton - only the second pinch-hit grand slam in Rays history - along with clutch pitching from a struggling bullpen helped the Rays end a three-game losing streak with a comeback 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Starting pitcher James Shields (2-1), who was not as sharp in his home debut, said this was the first time 2009 felt like 2008.

"I think so," Shields said. "It was a great win for our team. I mean, our bullpen did a great job coming in and shutting them down."

Zobrist got the call over Gabe Kapler and Willy Aybar with two outs in the sixth after Evan Longoria, returning after a two-game absence, doubled, and Pat Burrell and Dioner Navarro reached on a single and walk, respectively.

His 384-shot to left was his third career grand slam, tying a franchise record that Carlos Pena set Monday night against the Yankees. Randy Winn had the previous pinch-hit grand slam for Tampa Bay, on April 4, 2002 against Detroit.

"Gabe [Kapler] has not been swinging the bat as well as he can yet," Maddon said of why he had Zobrist pinch-hit for Gabe Gross. "Willy Aybar, the same thing. Just felt that Zorilla has been swinging the bat at this juncture better."

Zobrist's slam erased a 5-2 deficit, and three relievers combined for 12/3 shutout innings. Dan Wheeler, tagged for four ninth-inning runs in a 7-2 loss to New York on Tuesday night, retired dangerous Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko in the eighth, and closer Troy Percival pitched a shutout ninth.

Percival did not complete his work without causing skipped heartbeats among the 28,927 fans at Tropicana Field. He gave up a two-out single to pinch hitter Wilson Betemit and walked lead-off man Chris Getz.

With pinch-runner Brent Lillibridge on third after stealing second and third, Percival recorded the final out when Josh Fields popped out to second baseman Akinori Iwamura in shallow right.

"We finally were able to get the big knocks tonight," Maddon said. "We got some bit hits tonight, obviously, and of course Zobrist hitting a grand slam against that guy, who's really good, was something."

Shields allowed three runs in the sixth on a home run by Carlos Quentin and a two-run shot by Dye, which put the Rays behind 5-2. But the right-hander pitched through the first out of the seventh without allowing another base runner.

Sensational defense - the kind that got Tampa Bay to the World Series last year - helped the Rays keep the game from getting away early.

Center fielder B.J. Upton reprised his spectacular running, over-the-shoulder catch from Monday night against the Yankees with a similar highlight-reel snare to rob Konerko of a double in the fourth.

In the fifth, first baseman Pena showed why he won an AL Gold Glove last year by making a diving stop on a shot down the line by Chris Getz and tossing to Shields for the out. The play likely saved a run after Shields walked Alexei Ramirez and Brian Anderson with one out.

Rays ? 6 White Sox ? 5

White Sox AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Getz 2b 4 0 2 1 1 0 .269

Fields 3b 5 0 0 1 0 1 .306

Quentin lf 4 1 1 1 0 1 .257

Thome dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 .206

1-Owens pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Dye rf 4 1 1 2 0 3 .385

Konerko 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .306

Pierzynski c 4 1 1 0 0 0 .273

AL.Ramirez ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 .143

Bri.Anderson cf 2 1 1 0 1 0 .214

b-Betemit ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .286

2-Lillibridge pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077

Totals 35 5 9 5 3 6

Rays AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

B.Upton cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 .176

Crawford lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .222

Longoria 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .421

C.Pena 1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 .286

Burrell dh 4 1 1 0 0 0 .216

Navarro c 3 2 1 0 1 0 .222

Gross rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .167

a-Zobrist ph-rf 2 1 2 4 0 0 .273

Iwamura 2b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .324

Bartlett ss 2 0 1 1 1 0 .395

Totals 32 6 9 6 3 5

White Sox 002 003 000 - 5 9 0

Rays 010 014 00x - 6 9 0

a-homered for Gross in the 6th. b-singled for Bri.Anderson in the 9th.

1-ran for Thome in the 8th. 2-ran for Betemit in the 9th.

LOB-White Sox 6, Rays 5. 2B-Getz (3), Pierzynski (1), Longoria (5), Navarro (3), Iwamura (5), Bartlett (3). HR-Quentin (5), off J.Shields; Dye (4), off J.Shields; C.Pena (6), off Colon; Zobrist (2), off Thornton. RBIs-Getz (1), Fields (6), Quentin (9), Dye 2 (8), C.Pena (13), Zobrist 4 (7), Bartlett (4). SB-Owens (1), Lillibridge 2 (3), Bartlett (5). DP- Rays 1 (Longoria, Iwamura, C.Pena).

White Sox IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Colon 5 2/3 6 5 5 1 4 92 3.86

Thtn L 0-1 0 2 1 1 1 0 14 2.25

MacDougal 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 12.46

Richard 2 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 25 3.18

Rays IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

J.Shlds W 2-1 7 1/3 7 5 5 2 4 101 4.58

Shouse 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 3.00

Wheeler H 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 7 9.82

Percival S 2-2 1 1 0 0 1 1 15 6.75

Shouse pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

Thornton pitched to 3 batters in the 6th.

MacDougal pitched to 1 batter in the 6th.

T-2:45. A-28,927 (36,973).

Reporter Tony Fabrizio can be reached at (813) 259-7994.

Photo credit: Tribune photos by JASON BEHNKEN

Photo: Ben Zobrist heads for home after erasing a 5-2 deficit with his pinch-hit grand slam off Matt Thornton in the sixth inning.

Photo: Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, who returned after a death in his family, makes a throw in the fourth inning.

Copyright ? 2009, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com