Tests taken Sunday for fractures in the left hand of Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield were negative.
Sheffield, who was injured in a collision with Blue Jays first baseman Shea Hillenbrand on Saturday, is listed as day-to-day with a bruised left wrist. It was feared that Sheffield may have fractured the hamate bond in his left hand.
Because of some lingering soreness, it is possible that Sheffield will miss part or all of the upcoming two-game series against the Red Sox. The series begins on Monday at Fenway.
Sheffield did not start Sunday against the Blue Jays.
The hamate bone is most commonly fractured when a golfer hits the ground hard with the golf club on his or her downswing.
The fracture is usually a hairline fracture, commonly missed on normal X-rays. Symptoms are pain aggravated by gripping, tenderness over the hamate and symptoms of irritation of the ulnar nerve.
Sheffield was examined Sunday by team physician Stuart Hershon.
An MRI revealed no additional injuries.
Bernie Williams played right field for the Yankees and Jason
Giambi moved up to Sheffield's No. 3 spot in the batting order.
Hillenbrand was back in the lineup as the designated hitter
after undergoing a CT scan that came back fine. He was riding a
nine-game hitting streak, batting .533 (16-for-30) during that span
to raise his average from .217 to .347 with three homers and 12
RBI.
He entered Sunday's game with 13 hits in his past 18 at-bats.
"He's a tough guy. He's hotter than fire right now. He's not
coming out of that lineup -- he won't let you take him out,"
manager John Gibbons said. "He's actually pretty lucky."
Hillenbrand struck out his first three times up against Mike
Mussina, leaving the bases loaded in the fifth and slamming his bat
to the ground in frustration.
Sheffield was hitting .341 with four homers and 18 RBI this
season.
With the bases loaded in the fifth inning Saturday and New York
leading 10-6, Sheffield hit a groundball to Aaron Hill in the hole
between first and second. The second baseman's throw got to first
just after Sheffield reached the bag.
Sheffield ran into the back of Hillenbrand's head with his knee,
and they both tumbled to the ground as two runs scored on the
infield hit.
Both players came out of the game.
Hillenbrand got up first. Sheffield was helped off the field by
Torre and assistant trainer Steve Donohue. The Yankees said
Sheffield also had a bruised right knee.
"He was sore in a lot of places yesterday," Torre said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.