ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ Steve Trachsel shrugged his shoulders.

The right-hander is tentatively set to be the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' opening day starter, but said Friday it would be a mistake to read anything into it beyond the fact that someone has to fill the role.

``It's just the first game of the year. That's all it is,'' he said after pitching four innings in a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. ``If you make it more than that, you get yourself in trouble.''

Trachsel allowed two runs on three hits, including Mike Sweeney's solo homer. Anthony Medrano also drove in a run with a single off the right-hander, who signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent this winter after six seasons with the Chicago Cubs.

Manager Larry Rothschild has adjusted Trachsel's schedule to position him for a possible start at Detroit on April 3 because right-hander Juan Guzman and left-hander Wilson Alvarez are sidelined temporarily with sore shoulders.

``It isn't in stone yet,'' Trachsel said. ``They want to make sure if it does happen that'll be my normal day. But it's something that if Guzman comes back, or something else happens, obviously I could go the second day without any trouble.''

Trachsel, who's given up two or fewer runs in four of five spring outings, walked one and struck out three. He said one reason pitching the opener would not be a major deal for him personally is he's done it more than once in his career.

The right-hander was the Cubs' opening day starter a year ago and went on to lose a major league-high 18 games. In four game appearances this spring, he's allowed eight runs and 17 hits in 16 innings, although most of that came in a poor performance against Pittsburgh last week.

``I thought he threw the ball well,'' Rothschild said of Friday's four-inning stint. ``Really with him, keeping the ball down is a big part of his game. And he's done a pretty job this spring of doing that.''

Herbert Perry, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, hit a three-run double off Dan Murray in the first inning. Bubba Trammell also went 3-for-4 and had two RBIs, while Tony Graffanino and Mike DiFelice drove in one run apiece.

Perry, who's homered seven times, hiked his spring batting average to .458 with 14 RBIs.

``His numbers speak for themselves. He's swung the bat extremely well,'' Rothschild said. ``And it's not an accident. He's hitting the ball hard.''