Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Dioner Navarro and Eric Hinske each worked RBI walks in a wild eighth inning as Tampa Bay rallied to down Florida, 6-4, in the opener of a three-game set pitting a pair of Sunshine State surprise stories.

Each team entered Tuesday's game one game out of first place in their respective divisions, but the Rays were the team that looked the part in the series opener, scoring the tying and go-ahead runs without putting the ball in play.

Akinori Iwamura greeted Renyel Pinto in the eighth with a single to right and Willy Aybar followed with a bunt that hit the third-base bag for an infield single. Carl Crawford then singled to load the bases with nobody out before the Marlins flashed some leather.

Joe Nelson entered as the pitcher and Jorge Cantu backed him up, making a diving stop of B.J. Upton's ground ball down the third-base line and firing home for the force out. Evan Longoria then hit a slower, check-swing roller to Mike Jacobs, who charged and fired home just in time to nab Aybar.

Nelson didn't quite escape the jam, though, as he walked Navarro on a close 3-2 pitch to force in a run and tie the game at three. Nelson's wild streak continued with a walk to Hinske, forcing in another run to give the Rays the lead, 4-3.

Tampa Bay added a pair of runs in the top of the ninth on Longoria's two-out two-run double to right field.

Troy Percival gave the Marlins a chance in the ninth as he walked the bases loaded after getting Luis Gonzalez to strike out. Longoria then made a great diving stop on Josh Willingham's ground ball to third, getting the out at second and allowing a run to score to cut the lead to 6-4. After an Dan Uggla walk re-loaded the bases, Percival got Jacobs to ground out to second to end the game and lock up his 18th save of the season.

J.P. Howell (6-0) picked up the win behind Andy Sonnanstine, who gave up two runs on six hits, five strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Scott Olsen saw another strong start crumble in the bullpen after he gave up two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts over seven strong innings. Pinto (2-3) was hit with the loss after giving up two runs on three hits and failing to record an out.

Iwamura hit a two-run home run as part of a 3-for-5 effort and Crawford finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored for the Rays, who have won five of seven.

Olsen, Jeremy Hermida and Jacobs each knocked in runs for the Marlins, who have lost three of four. Willingham returned to the lineup after an eight-week DL stint with a herniated disk in his back, finishing 1-for-5 with an RBI in the cleanup spot.

The Marlins jumped to a quick 1-0 edge in the home half of the first. Hanley Ramirez set the table with a leadoff double and Hermida knocked him in with a single to center.

Tampa Bay took the lead at 2-1 in the third with the power of an unlikely source. Iwamura hit his 200th career home run - spanning his lengthy career in Japan and his brief stint with the Rays - off Olsen on an eight-pitch at-bat, the first home run Olsen has given up to a lefty this season.

In the fourth, Jacobs smoked a double to center with one out, but it appeared he would stay there when Olsen hit a high pop-up to the third base side. Longoria threw his hands in the air to signal he had lost the ball in the lights, and it bounced off shortstop Jason Bartlett's glove in a run- scoring single to tie the score at two.

Ramirez then skied a foul pop that Longoria lost again, eventually dropping for a foul ball. The shortstop, however, grounded into a fielder's choice to end the frame.

The Rays defense again let them down in the seventh. Hermida walked with two outs and Cantu lined a 1-1 pitch into the gap in left-center field to drive in Hermida and give the Marlins a 3-2 lead.