Jose Abreu crushed a game-winning grand slam in the ninth inning, his second homer of the night, to send the Chicago White Sox to a 9-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a four-game set.
Evan Longoria cracked a two-run shot off Matt Lindstrom (2-1) in the top half of the inning to break a 4-4 tie, but Chicago rallied for five runs in the home half to take the win.
With one out, Alejandro De Aza doubled before Grant Balfour (0-1) walked Tyler Flowers and Paul Konerko. Adam Eaton grounded into a force out at second, but it was enough to score De Aza. Balfour then walked Marcus Semien before serving up Abreu's grand slam.
Balfour left a fastball up for the Cuban rookie, who hammered the pitch over the wall in right field.
[SportsNetwork.com]
