A little more than 24 hours after his first start in nearly three months, Andy Pettitte said he felt "good" soreness -- and that's good news for the Yankees.

Pettitte threw five scoreless innings against Toronto on Wednesday and -- most importantly -- walked off the mound with his health intact.


On Thursday, Pettitte rode an exercise bike and felt some soreness, but nothing out of the ordinary for the day after a start.

The 40-year-old veteran, who missed nearly three months with a broken bone in his left ankle, plans to throw a bullpen session on Friday. He may run after the session.

His next start is slated for Monday in Minnesota. He hopes to throw 85-90 pitches. Pettitte threw 75 on Wednesday.

The lingering concern for Pettitte is his leg strength. He said his legs weakened late in Wednesday's start, but he was still able to throw an extra 20 pitches after the fact.

His goal, of course, is to throw without a pitch count by the time the postseason rolls around, assuming the Yankees make it.

GARDY ON WAY: Joe Girardi is never one to reveal specifics about team plans, but he said Thursday that speedster Brett Gardner will return soon -- possibly as early as Friday.

When he's activated, Gardner will serve as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner for the Yankees.

Gardner, who has missed all but nine games with a right elbow injury that eventually required arthroscopic surgery, could also be added to the Yankees' postseason roster, assuming they get there.

Gardner will not be able to hit for the Yanks, but his speed certainly gives Girardi options. Gardner, Eduardo Nunez and Ichiro Suzuki are all threats to steal a base.

"We haven't had a lot of (speed all year) but it's nice to have (now)," Girardi said

JONES STRUGGLES: Again, Girardi doesn't usually offer specific details about personnel moves, but it doesn't sound like Andruw Jones will be getting many at-bats in the near future.

"He's scuffled and you look at what (Ichiro) is doing and we're going with the hot hand," Girardi said.

Suzuki went 7-for-8 in the double-header Wednesday. Jones, on the other hand, is hitting just .132 (12 hits in 91 at-bats with one homer) and slugging a mere .198 since July 19. ... Given that they're in the thick of a division race, do the Yankees watch the scoreboard at home? Of course. "It's impossible not to see the scoreboard," Girardi said.