SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — San Francisco left-hander Madison Bumgarner was scratched from Sunday’s spring start against San Diego due to tightness in his rib cage and a nerve condition in his left foot.

Bumgarner said both issues were minor but he wanted to take care of them now rather than let them linger. He said he would have pitched had it been a regular-season game.

Bumgarner developed neuroma, a nerve condition affecting toes on his left foot, during the offseason and said it was under control following treatment.

The 2014 World Series MVP felt something pull in his rib cage while taking batting practice a few days ago.

“I’ve been pitching with that,” Bumgarner said of the neuroma. “That wasn’t really the issue. I just don’t want to have two things going on. There’s just no sense in trying to pitch through something like that and taking a chance. It’s just spring training. It’s probably not going to hurt to miss a start or two.”

An MRI revealed no oblique damage.

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“I’ll probably give it a day or two,” Bumgarner said. “I’m really hopeful that in just a couple of days it’ll be back to normal. I feel like it’s going to get better really quickly.”

ORIOLES: Pedro Alvarez made his spring debut with Baltimore and hit an RBI double in the first inning of the Orioles’ 14-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Alvarez went 1 for 3 in his first game since he finalized a $5.75 million, one-year contract with Baltimore last week. He drove in Ryan Flaherty in the first and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Hyun Soo Kim.

n Manager Buck Showalter had no definitive word on catcher Matt Wieters’ right elbow soreness. Wieters left Saturday’s game with Minnesota in the first inning.

NATIONALS: Manager Dusty Baker, in his first year managing Washington, found out something about starting pitcher Max Scherzer on Sunday – don’t try to high five him coming into the dugout.

“He just looks right through you, with one of those eyes he got,” Baker said. “Somebody told me, ‘Hey, man, he don’t do that. He don’t give five when he comes in.’ That’s what you call learning about your players.”

Scherzer allowed one run and two hits over four innings of the Nationals 4-4 tie with the Cardinals.

YANKEES: CC Sabathia didn’t make it out of the second inning in his second spring training start, and Philadelphia beat New York 3-0.

The 35-year-old lefty, coming off two hitless innings Tuesday against Miami, gave up three runs and five hits in 12/3 innings.


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