ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Marlins lost more than a game.

Team leader Cliff Floyd left in the ninth inning of Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with a left knee injury after sliding awkwardly into second base.

	Floyd

"It feels better than I thought it was going to feel," Floyd said after undergoing postgame treatment and X-rays. "I'm not worried. I didn't hear it pop. I don't think it's torn ... at worst a sprain. If it's not torn, I'm playing."

Floyd slid late on Mark Smith's infield single. Thinking shortstop Felix Martinez might make a play at second, Floyd didn't begin his slide until he was almost on top of the base.

"I panicked, thinking I had to get down," Floyd said. "I was indecisive."

Bubba Trammell hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Devil Rays won back-to-back series for the first time this season.

Trammell, making a rare start, hit his sixth homer of the season off Ricky Bones (1-2) to snap a 4-4 tie.

"Just like everybody here, I want to play every day," Trammell said. "It's frustrating sometimes, but I'll just try to stay ready when I get chance to play. I've got to do what I can to try and stay in there."

Three of Trammell's homers have come as pinch-hitter.

Fred McGriff broke out of an 0-for-12 slump by going 3-for-4, including a third-inning RBI double that put the Devil Rays up 2-0. It was his first RBI since hitting his 400th career home run nine days ago.

Mike DiFelice tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Russ Johnson in the second, opening the scoring for Tampa Bay. McGriff doubled home a run and scored on Trammell's single in the third.

Florida's Derrek Lee hit a three-run homer to tie the game at 3 in fourth inning. All nine of his homers and 16 of 19 RBI have come on the road.

"When Cliff went down, the whole mood changed," Lee said. "I can't explain what he means to our team. The air just went out when he went down."

Greg Vaughn's RBI double gave Tampa Bay a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth.

The Marlins drew even again in the sixth on Andy Fox's infield single.

Fox, acquired from Arizona on Friday for Danny Bautista, beat first baseman McGriff to the bag after pulling a grounder down the line. Then Trammell's homer put the Devil Rays in front to stay.

Mark Kotsay had a run-scoring double and Floyd added an RBI single to bring the Marlins within one in the top of the ninth.

Jim Mecir (5-1), the fourth Tampa Bay pitcher, picked up the win. Roberto Hernandez got the final three outs for his eighth save in 13 opportunities.

The bottom of the eighth saw Bones get ejected by home plate umpire Kerwin Danley for disputing balls and strikes. Both benches briefly empty after a collision at home plate between Tampa Bay's Jose Guillen and Marlins catcher Mike Redmond.

Guillen was tagged out by Redmond on McGriff's single as he tried to score from second.

"He grabbed onto my leg and pulled me down," Redmond said. "He wouldn't let go. Then he gets all tough once everybody grabs him."

"My arm was stuck on his leg and I told him 'let me go,' " Guillen said. "I said, 'Hey, what is up?' He tried to mess me up and I jumped on him right away."

Marlins starter Jesus Sanchez was lifted after allowing four runs and eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. He is winless in his past six starts, dating back to a May 10 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Game notes
Umpire Andrew Fletcher missed the game with a bad back and was replaced by Travis Katzenmeier. ... Marlins SS Alex Gonzalez was out of the starting lineup for the third time in five games. The 1999 All-Star, who is hitting just .159, went hitless in six at-bats over the past two days. ... The Devil Rays are 1-11 this season when their opponent starts a left-handed pitcher. ... Florida's Luis Castillo was almost thrown out at first base by Johnson after his hard one-hopper hit second base umpire Dan Morrison a couple steps behind the infield dirt. ... Tampa Bay took two of three from the Marlins. The last time the Devil Rays won two straight series was last August. Tampa Bay is 5-4 in interleague play, equaling its best-ever win total. The Devil Rays won five of 16 interleague contests in 1998.