Jayson Nix hit a tie-breaking grand slam in the sixth inning to lead the Chicago White Sox to an 8-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday.

Alex Rios homered and drove in a pair of runs as well for Chicago, which managed to split the four-game series.

Nix blasted a 3-2 fastball from James Shields (5-3) to left field for his first career grand slam, giving the Sox a 7-3 lead. It was his first homer of the season.

Shields was tagged for a season-high seven runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The slam helped a less-than-sharp Jake Peavy (4-4) snap a two-game slide. The right-hander allowed five runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. A Reid Brignac RBI single chased Peavy with one out in the sixth, but Three Chicago relievers allowed three hits and no runs the rest of the way.

Matt Thornton allowed one hit over 2 1/3 innings and Tony Pena threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season.

Ben Zobrist homered and drove in two runs for the major league-leading Rays, who finished a seven-game home stand an underwhelming 2-5.

Sergio Santos allowed consecutive singles to Zobrist and Carl Crawford, but got Evan Longoria to ground out with runners on the corners to end the frame.

Omar Vizquel’s RBI double in the eighth stretched the lead to 8-5.