CHICAGO -- The streak is over.

And if the White Sox were going to end a 10-game losing streak, then they might as well do it with dramatic excitement, as they did during their 12-9 victory over the Rays at a rainy Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday afternoon.

The White Sox trailed 9-5 going into the bottom of the ninth, watching a 4-2 lead evaporate as the Rays (23-6) scored five in the eighth and two in the ninth. Yes, more consternation and more teeth-gnashing were on their way.

Manager Pedro Grifol¡¯s crew instead scored seven times in its last at-bat against relievers Jalen Beeks and Garrett Cleavinger, using five two-strike hits to turn the downright unlikely into a raucous celebration. Andrew Vaughn?delivered the deciding shot with a three-run home run to left off a 2-2 Cleavinger slider.

¡°I blacked out,¡± said Vaughn of his first walk-off hit. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t remember running the bases. That was a lot of fight. That was awesome. One of the most gritty baseball games I¡¯ve seen in a long time.¡±

¡°That was almost more beneficial for us as a club than if we went out there and put up 12 in the first,¡± said White Sox starting pitcher Mike Clevinger, who struck out eight over five innings. ¡°That¡¯s the morale booster we need.¡±

This ninth-inning rally started innocently enough, when Romy Gonz¨¢lez flied out to center. Eloy Jiménez got things going with a single to left -- his fourth single of the game -- before Yasmani Grandal got hit by a pitch, Jake Burger?doubled and Oscar Col¨¢s hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 9-7.

Elvis Andrus¡¯ single chopped the lead to one, and Lenyn Sosa, who figures to return to Triple-A Charlotte when Tim Anderson and Hanser Alberto join the team from injury rehab Tuesday, kept the inning alive with a ground single to right. Adam Haseley, who matched a career high with four hits, singled to center to tie the game.

It all set the stage for Vaughn.

¡°No doubt,¡± said Vaughn of knowing the ball was gone on impact. ¡°I knew.¡±

¡°I didn't want to leave it up, and I thought I got it down enough,¡± Cleavinger said. ¡°He went down and got it. Credit to him for putting a good swing on it.¡±

Those ninth-inning heroics finished off a season-high 18 hits. They also marked the White Sox biggest ninth-inning comeback since Sept. 7, 2007, when they trailed 10-4 before scoring six in the ninth vs. Minnesota and winning in extra innings. It marked their biggest ninth-inning comeback without going to extras since April 28, 2004, when they trailed 8-4 before scoring five in the ninth vs. Cleveland.

¡°Sometimes, hits are contagious,¡± Haseley said. ¡°Seems like that last inning, everybody that got up to the plate was putting in a good at-bat. Everyone was just feeding off each other, trying to keep the line moving, and good things happened."

¡°We had some heartbreak losses against them,¡± said Grifol, whose team finished 1-6 vs. the Rays. ¡°Baseball is a crazy game, and today was an example. But that clubhouse was jumping, and it was something we needed.¡±

While Sunday¡¯s performance certainly was a memorable one, it still couldn¡¯t wash away Chicago¡¯s 8-21 showing during April. The White Sox finished 0-8-1 in series play and 4-9 at home, and they never won back-to-back games.

Reynaldo L¨®pez, who had been used in high-leverage relief opportunities during the first month, also left Sunday¡¯s game after allowing three runs in one-third of an inning due to right biceps fatigue and the possibility of a dead arm setting in. There¡¯s a long road back for the White Sox to relevance, let alone contention, as they open a three-game set on Tuesday night with the Twins, who lead them by nine games in the American League Central.

Maybe Sunday¡¯s comeback can start Chicago on the right path.

¡°Yeah, that felt like a huge weight off our shoulders,¡± Vaughn said.

¡°Going into the off-day and starting a new series, it's huge,¡± Haseley said. ¡°Especially against a team like that. You know they're one of the best in baseball. It shows that we can fight and hang with them."

¡°A roller-coaster,¡± a smiling Clevinger said. ¡°It was the highest of highs to the lowest of lows back to the highest of highs. It was a fun game. Definitely the most fun game of the season.¡±