NEW YORK -- Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury missed Saturday's 6-3 loss due to a mild right hamstring strain suffered Friday night.
It is unclear if or when he will return to the field, but Ellsbury said on Saturday that he plans to be back this season.
"I'm going to do everything I can to be back as soon as possible but today I'm just basically going to do as much treatment as possible to see how it responds," he said.
Ellsbury left Friday night's 5-3 win against the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth inning with a hamstring strain suffered while he was running out a grounder in the bottom of the fourth. He said on Saturday afternoon that the injury felt "better," a development that gave him confidence about a possible return this season.
After Saturday's loss, the Yankees have eight games left in the regular season. They are 4½ games out of the second wild card -- a long shot to make the postseason -- after the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners lost Saturday.
So Ellsbury was asked why he would put his health at risk to return even though the Yankees are unlikely to make the playoffs.
"Obviously I'll talk to the team and we'll be on the same page with this," said Ellsbury, who signed a seven-year, $153 million contract in the offseason. "We'll still try to do everything we can to play these last [eight] games."
Manager Joe Girardi was not so hopeful about a possible return.
"He's not a player for us," Girardi said. "Obviously we will give him a few days off and see where he's at. It's not what you want but we have to deal with it."
Ellsbury's loss looms large for the Yankees. He's hitting .271 and leads the team with 70 RBIs. Brett Gardner replaced Ellsbury in center field and went 2-for-5. Chris Young started in left field on Saturday and batted 1-for-5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.