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Eliminated Yankees continue series with Blue Jays

Sep 24, 2008 - 10:08 AM NY Yankees (86-71) at Toronto (83-74), 7:07 pm EDT

TORONTO (Ticker) -- The New York Yankees will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993. They can look toward their future. Before this season, many thought that began with Phil Hughes.

The 22-year-old righthander hopes to end a disappointing campaign on a good note as the Yankees meet the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Despite a 3-1 win in the opener on Tuesday, the Yankees were eliminated from the playoff race with the Boston Red Sox's 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Hughes (0-4, 7.96 ERA) made his first start since April 29 last Wednesday, pitching four innings in a Yankee win over the Chicago White Sox. The highly regarded prospect missed most of the season because of a stress fracture in his rib.

A.J. Burnett (18-10, 4.18) counters for Toronto in what could be his final start as a Blue Jay. The 31-year-old has the opportunity to decline the final two years of his contract and become a free agent. Off his strong campaign, he could command one of the richer contracts this offseason.

Burnett is 6-3 with a 2.58 ERA in 10 career starts against New York and is 3-1 with a 1.78 mark in four outings against it this season.

The righthander has yielded three or less runs in six of his last seven starts and enters the game as the AL's strikeout leader with 220.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter didn't start on Tuesday because of a sore left hand. He came in as a defensive replacement in the ninth. The All-Star was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles and was 0-for-5 on Sunday in the final game at Yankee Stadium.