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TORONTO -- New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was scratched from Tuesday night's lineup against Toronto with a sore right oblique and was listed as day to day.

Jeter said he first felt sore last week during a homestand against Boston and Tampa Bay. The pain persisted during a weekend series in Baltimore but Jeter still played in all three games, going 2 for 4 in Sunday's 5-3 victory. The Yankees were off Monday.

Jeter

"It just hasn't gotten any better," Jeter said. "It was their thinking that we had yesterday off and a day or two can't hurt."

Jeter said he could play with the pain if necessary but didn't want the injury to worsen.

"I've pulled that muscle before and [ended up on] the disabled list," Jeter said. "That's two or three weeks. We're trying to avoid that. Hopefully this extra day helped."

Manager Joe Girardi was hopeful Jeter would be able to play Wednesday night against the Blue Jays.

"He's not quite there, we'll go day to day," Girardi said. "He played with it in Baltimore, we just feel maybe 72 hours will be a lot more beneficial."

Center fielder Brett Gardner batted leadoff Tuesday while Ramiro Pena started at shortstop and batted ninth.

Watching from the bench as New York lost 5-1 was not fun for Jeter.

"I don't like to sit out any game," he said. "It's always annoying when you can't play."

Also Tuesday, right-hander Ian Kennedy had surgery in New York to remove an aneurysm from beneath his right biceps. He is expected to remain in hospital for the next couple of days and should be able to resume throwing within six to eight weeks.

The 24-year-old Kennedy was pitching in Triple-A this season after going 0-4 with a 8.17 ERA for New York last year. The righty had felt numbness in his pitching hand last month.

Kennedy's procedure was performed by Dr. George Todd, who operated on former Yankees pitcher David Cone's aneurysm in 1996.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press