CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Pirates had their first scare of the spring yesterday, with Tom Gorzelanny missing his start against the Philadelphia Phillies because of left shoulder discomfort, but early indications were that the matter is not serious

The strongest reinforcement: He is expected, albeit tentatively, to pitch Sunday.

"It's just a little tenderness," general manager Neal Huntington said. "If this were April 2 or Aug. 1 or any date in the regular season, Tom would be making his start. But it's spring training, and there's no reason to rush anything. This is minor. It's not even going to affect his spring preparation."

Gorzelanny told management he wanted to pitch but accepted the decision.

"There was no sense in taking a chance," he said in a brief gathering with reporters at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla. "I'm not going to try to be a hero in spring training."

Gorzelanny, the Pirates' winningest pitcher in 2007 at 14-10, initially complained of discomfort after a round of long-toss Wednesday at McKechnie Field. He told management that throwing off a mound was fine but that he felt something when on flat ground.

Huntington, manager John Russell, pitching coach Jeff Andrews and athletic trainer Brad Henderson met that night and decided, even though they felt Gorzelanny was well enough to pitch his scheduled two innings yesterday, he would be delayed.

They even tossed out the idea of limiting him to one inning.

"Basically, we just said, 'Why?' " Huntington said. "Why start him now rather than letting him have a chance to rest it a bit?"

It might have played into the decision, too, that it was an unusually cold 48 degrees with a biting wind in Clearwater.

"Tom could have pitched, but he might not have been comfortable. We all agreed on that," Andrews said. "This is something you don't want, so I don't mean to just brush this aside. But it's something that we'll deal with, and it comes at the right time. This is the time of spring for aches and pains to pop up. Things like this happen."

The Pirates' plan is to have Gorzelanny pitch one inning Sunday, but Huntington added that Monday or Tuesday also were possibilities.

There had been, by all accounts, no previous indication of trouble. Gorzelanny had made all of his bullpen and batting-practice sessions this spring, including the most recent one Monday at Pirate City.

Moreover, he has had few issues over his career with the shoulder. The most notable came when he exited a game after 2 1/3 innings last season in New York -- a 6-3 loss to the Mets July 25 in which he was charged with six runs -- because of shoulder stiffness.

He rebounded two weeks later to have exemplary starts in Phoenix and San Francisco, the latter a complete game.

If a red flag is to be found, it could be in Gorzelanny's innings count: He made 32 starts last season and pitched a career-high 201 2/3 innings, an increase of more than 40 from the 161 1/3 he pitched as a rookie the previous year. It generally is recommended that young pitchers not exceed their previous year by more than 20-30 innings.

Gorzelanny clearly weakened in September, going 1-3 with a 5.77 ERA in his final six starts as he pursued a 15th victory.

Phil Dumatrait took Gorzelanny's place yesterday and pitched two scoreless innings in the 11-6 rout of Philadelphia at Bright House Networks Field that opened the Pirates' Grapefruit League schedule.

The revised pitching list: Ian Snell will start today against the Phillies at McKechnie Field. Zach Duke will pitch Saturday, Gorzelanny Sunday with Paul Maholm right after him, Matt Morris Monday and Dumatrait Tuesday.