Nomar sidelined by back spams

[pkarr5000]

Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra was scratched from the lineup 30 minutes before Saturday's game against the Seattle Mariners because of lower back spasms.

The problem was unrelated to a minor injury Garciaparra sustained Friday night, when Willie Bloomquist's hard grounder struck him in the right collarbone. He stayed in the game.

Garciaparra, a two-time AL batting champion, was hitting .320 with 22 home runs and 82 RBIs. He was listed as day-to-day.