ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ Vinny Castilla hurt the Florida Marlins with his bat and glove.

The Tampa Bay third baseman had a two-run triple and made two big defensive plays in a 6-4 Devil Rays victory Friday night.

``Castilla beat us,'' Florida manager John Boles said.

Tampa Bay's Larry Rothschild noted Castilla has been struggling at the plate, but hasn't let a slow start affect his defense.

The third baseman dove to catch Mike Redmond's line drive to get the Devil Rays out of a bases-loaded, second-inning jam, then made another crucial stop to take the steam out of a Marlins threat in the ninth.

``He's had a knack for doing that, even when he's not swinging the bat well,'' Rothschild said.

Castilla, who was 1-for-5 and is hitting just .213, tripled to drive in two runners who drew walks from Ryan Dempster (6-4). Another runner who walked scored on a double by Gerald Williams.

The Marlins scored off Steve Trachsel (4-6) on Kevin Millar's triple with the bases loaded and Derrek Lee's RBI double. If not for Castilla, Florida would have done a lot more damage.

``Those two defensive plays, and the fact three walks scored,'' Boles said, ``that was the difference in the game.''

John Flaherty homered and Felix Martinez joined Castilla in driving in two runs for the Devil Rays. Gerald Williams had a run-scoring double after Florida trimmed a five-run deficit to 5-4.

The win was just the third for the Devil Rays in 11 games against their intrastate rivals. Florida's 34-22 record since interleague play was introduced in 1997 is tied for the best in the majors, while Tampa Bay owns the worst mark at 13-28.

But the Devil Rays are 4-3 this season.

``We're playing better,'' said Trachsel, who ended a personal four-game losing streak by limiting the Marlins to one hit before Florida broke through against him with four runs in the sixth. ``I think it starts with starting pitching. If you're pitching well, it takes some pressure off the offense.''

Tampa Bay won one of three games against the New York Mets and two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies, returning home from a six-game road trip with the AL's best ERA so far in June.

Trachsel allowed five hits, struck out two and walked three in 5 2-3 innings to win for the first time since May 11. Jim Mecir and Roberto Hernandez pitched 3 1-3 innings of scoreless ball to finish a seven-hitter, with Hernandez working the ninth for his seventh save.

``The team fought hard and tried to come back. I just didn't do my job today,'' said Dempster, who lost for just the second time since April 15. ``You've got to bear down and make pitches in certain situations. Tonight, I didn't make a couple of pitches when I needed too and it cost me some runs.''

Notes: The crowd of 16,035 at Tropicana Field was more than 2,000 less than the Devil Rays' season average at home ... Tampa Bay's Fred McGriff walked four times, tying a team record ... Cliff Floyd's infield single in the sixth extended his streak of reaching base by hit, walk or being hit by a pitch to 36 games for the Marlins. He's 42-for-127 (.331) during the stretch.