ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ A couple of hits didn't change how Greg Vaughn feels about a slow start this spring.

The slugger hasn't homered or driven in a run for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, however he did go for 2-for-3 to raise his average to .190 during Thursday's 4-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Vaughn signed with the Devil Rays as a free agent this winter after hitting 95 home runs for the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds the past two years. He feels he's been swinging the bat well, but just doesn't have much to show for it.

In nine games, he's 4-for-21 with no extra-base hits.

``Spring training is spring training. As long as I'm seeing the ball, I feel all right,'' he said after singling twice and scoring a run against the Tigers, who were held to two hits by three pitchers. Tampa Bay didn't allow a runner after the third inning.

``I feel like I have a chance if I'm seeing the ball. If I'm not seeing the ball, then I've got problems,'' Vaughn said. ``The whole time I've been seeing the ball. But it does feel good just to finally start getting a couple of results from it.''

Esteban Yan was sharp again in his bid to earn the fifth spot in the Devil Rays rotation, allowing one run and two hits in five innings with four strikeouts. Dave Eiland followed with three hitless innings before Jim Mecir pitched the ninth.

Wendell Magee singled in the third off Yan, stole second and scored Detroit's only run on Javier Cardona's RBI single. The run was the first this spring off Yan, who's given up six hits, walked two and struck out six in 14 innings.

``I thought today he was as good as I've seen him in a long, long time,'' Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said.

A starter in the minor leagues and briefly with Baltimore in 1997, Yan has been one of the mainstays of Tampa Bay's bullpen the past two years. He made 64 appearances in relief in 1998 and 50 last season.

For the first time since coming to the Devil Rays, though, he skipped winter league ball this year and feels stronger _ physically and mentally _ this spring.

``It helped 100 percent,'' he said. ``I feel very good ... really comfortable.''

Vaughn led off Tampa Bay's three-run second with a single off Jeff Weaver and later scored on a throwing error by Tigers third baseman Gabe Alvarez. Quinton McCracken had a sacrifice fly in the second and Jose Canseco had a run-scoring double off Jim Poole in the seventh.

Canseco, who's hitting .375, went 2-for-4 and has seven RBIs this spring.