Alex Cobb allowed a hit-by-pitch and a couple of groundball singles to allow a run in the first inning. He then escaped a bases-loaded, no outs jam in the top of the second inning before Luke Scott slammed an opposite-field solo home run off Jose Quintana in the bottom half to tie the game at 1. But Cobb ran into more trouble in the third inning and this time it cost him. With 1 out, Alex Rios doubled, and then Alex Cobb hit A.J. Pierzynski with a pitch. That could very well have been intentional after Pierzynski slid into purposely Ben Zobrist‘s ankle on a force play at second base on Tuesday. But the White Sox then had 2 runners on with 1 out, and they made Cobb pay, with Dayan Viciedo delivering a single and Alexei Ramirez contributing a sac fly to give the White Sox a 3-1 advantage. If Cobb truly hit Pierzynski with purpose (which he presumably did), he picked a terrible spot and it may have lost the Rays the game.

The tension continued in the 4th inning. With 2 outs and nobody on in the bottom of the 4th, Quintana threw a laser behind Ben Zobrist, and he was immediately ejected as was White Sox manager Robin Ventura. The Scott homer was the only baserunner Quintana allowed in 3.2 innings prior to the HBP. But the White Sox kept rolling in the top of the 5th, stringing together Viciedo and Ramrirez doubles to plate a 4th run. Cobb went 5 innings, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits, striking out 4 while walking 1. He just allowed hit after hit and his command issues were exacerbated by the Pierzynski HBP.

Nate Jones replaced Quintana and the Rays finally got something against him in the 6th inning. With 1 out and Jose Molina on after a single, Carlos Pena slammed a 2-run shot into the right field seats. But White Sox relievers Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain combined for 2.1 perfect innings as the Rays remained behind 4-3.

In the 9th inning, Addison Reed came in to close out the game for the White Sox. Carlos Pena led off the inning with a walk, and two batters later, Matt Joyce singled to amazingly give the Rays just their first runner in scoring position in the game. The Rays could not take advantage as Ben Zobrist and Luke Scott both popped out to end the game.

Jones (3-0) got the win in the game while Cobb (2-1) took the loss and Reed earned his 6th save. The Rays got shut down for the most part by whoever the White Sox put on the mound, and Cobb could not give them a good outing and four shutout relief innings went to waste. The result: the Rays just got swept at home. That’s never fun. The Rays have an off-day on Thursday to attempt to fathom what just happened. The Rays could have won either of the first two games and even on Wednesday they had an opportunity to steal the game. The Rays start a 3-game set with the first place Baltimore Orioles on Friday with an opportunity to seize the top spot in the AL East for themselves.

With the game being scoreless in the bottom of the 4th inning, Hideki Matsui stepped up to the plate for his second plate appearance of the season for the Rays after flyout out to left the first time. White Sox starter Philip Humber hanged a first-pitch slider to Matsui in the 4th, and Matsui got all of it, drilling an electrifying no-doubt 2-run home run to give the Rays a 2-0 lead in the game. But in the top of the 5th, James Shields allowed a Dayan Viciedo single, committed an error on a pickoff play, and then an Alexei Ramirez single pulled the White Sox within 2-1. The turn of events in the 5th unnerved Shields and that proved to be the difference.

Shields walked Adam Dunn to begin the inning and two batters later, Alex Rios singled. An A.J. Pierzynski grounder got through the right side to tie the game at 2 and move Rios to third base. The Rays initially played the infield back, but after a Shields wild pitch moved Pierzynski, they played the infield in. That immediately loomed large as a Dayan Viciedo grounder just got by Elliot Johnson to give the White Sox a 3-2 lead. After an Alexei Ramirez RBI double, an Orlando Hudson single, and an Alejandro De Aza RBI groundout, suddenly it was 6-2. Cesar Ramos allowed a Viciedo homer in the 8th as the White Sox won the game 7-2.

Humber (2-2) earned his first win since his April 21st perfect game, going 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1. Shields falls to 6-3 on the year after going 6 innings allowing 6 runs, 5 earned, on 10 hits, striking out 8 while walking 1. His groundout to airout ratio was 8-2. Everything was going great before the lapse in the 5th and the implosion in the 6th. The Rays had their ace going strong on the mound and suddenly he simply fell apart. What can you do?

James Shields is a fourth starter in the big leagues other than one thing: his command. When his command is on, he can dominate with his 4-pitch mix. When it’s not, you wonder how in the world he threw 10 complete games in 2011. Shields lost command of his fastball and changeup in the 6th, and he ended up allowing 3-hits on his third-best option, his slider, and only getting out of his inning with another breaking ball. These types of outings unfortunately happen for Shields. The term “quality start” is flawed, but the past two seasons, Shields has managed just two bare quality starts- 6 innings, 3 earned runs. Aces can turn in outings like that or better when they’re off. Shields can’t do that nearly as often.

The Rays look to salvage a game for the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon with Alex Cobb taking on White Sox lefty Jose Quintana in his second MLB start. The Rays have let two winnable games slip away the past two days. They can’t come away from this series empty-handed.