Kevin Youkilis’ back issues refuse to go away and he sat out for the fifth straight game, last night as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays, 5-3.
“He tried to take some work in the cage and he’s just not ready,” manager Joe Girardi said.
Jayson Nix filled in for Youkilis at third and went 2-for-3 with a run. Lefty-hitting Lyle Overbay was at first against Toronto southpaw Mark Buehrle.
Girardi didn’t want to guess on when Youkilis might return.
“I thought it would be today,” Girardi said. “Hopefully it’s tomorrow. We’ll just go day-by-day.”
Youkilis first suffered back stiffness in last Saturday’s game in Toronto, and he was removed from that game.
Girardi hoped Youkilis would avoid a stint on the disabled list and didn’t know of any further scheduled tests.
“We’re facing a lefty [J.A. Happ] on Saturday and I’d definitely like to have him back by then,” Girardi said. “I’d think he’d be back before 15 days.”
The injury won’t affect the way Girardi uses Youkilis when he gets back.
“It’s just something that creeps up on people with back issues,” Girardi said. “A lot of time there’s no rhyme or reason. … I won’t scale back from what I was doing.”
* Outfield prospect Mason Williams was arrested for DUI early yesterday morning in Tampa, where he is playing for the Yankees’ Class A team.
The 21-year-old was pulled over for driving his Range Rover 53 mph in a 40-mph zone, as well as weaving in traffic. He was booked at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office.
Williams had a blood-alcohol level of .062 and .067 in two separate readings, according to police records. While those are both below the legal limit of .08 in Florida, police said Williams failed field sobriety tests and displayed other “clues of impairment.”
The charge is a second- degree misdemeanor and Williams could face jail time and additional penalties. The Yankees had no comment on the matter.
Michael Pineda only recently got his license back after his DUI arrest in August while rehabbing from shoulder surgery in Tampa.
* Ivan Nova again will try to turn his season around when he gets the start tonight.
“I need to pitch good,” said Nova, who has a 6.14 ERA and hasn’t lasted more than five innings in any of his three starts. “Right now, I haven’t pitched the way I want to, but I feel comfortable, I feel really good.”
* Chien-Ming Wang started his second game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night and allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two in the 4-1 loss to Columbus. Wang could emerge as a possible replacement in the rotation.