NEW YORK ¨C Where was Ken Giles??

It was the question on everyone¡¯s mind when the Blue Jays headed into the later innings of an incredibly tight matchup --?an eventual 2-1 win?-- against the American League East division leaders at Yankee Stadium on Saturday and the team¡¯s closer was nowhere to be seen.?

The 28-year-old right-hander has been the talk of much trade speculation, he battled through a minor injury earlier in the season and with a trip to the paternity list looming there were?a number of?scenarios that could have been responsible for the absence of Giles. In the end, it was none of those things.?

¡°During the break, he felt great and then he went [and] got a massage, and from that he got nerve inflammation and that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t pitch today,¡± Blue Jays manager Charlie?Montoyo?explained after the game. ¡°He was trying to get it loose and never got it loose and that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t tell the press before the game, because we were hoping that he¡¯d get it loose. But he didn¡¯t get there.¡±?

Giles and?Montoyo?both indicated that they expect the back-end reliever to be back in action for Sunday¡¯s series finale against the Yankees.?

¡°[It¡¯s] nothing serious,¡± Giles said. ¡°A little fatigue, and I got some work done during the All-Star break. I¡¯m just a little sore from it still, so we¡¯re just being cautious from it. [It¡¯s] just a little irritated, so I¡¯m just day by day right now and so hopefully I¡¯ll be back on the mound tomorrow.¡±?

The irritation is confined to the?nerve?area in his throwing arm, and it was something Giles didn¡¯t feel would be an issue until just before the game on Saturday.?

¡°When I first came back to play catch today, I felt a little discomfort and I didn¡¯t want to push it because pushing things can end very badly,¡± he said. ¡°So?I wanted to take it [as] a day by day thing, just kind of be cautious. But at the end of the day, it¡¯s nothing serious, just need to let it calm down a little bit.¡±?

With Giles unavailable for the game, and starter Clayton Richard?exiting after two innings with left lat tightness, the Blue Jays relied on five other relievers to secure the win.?

¡°They were amazing today,¡± Giles said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to jump on their success today. They did an?absolutely amazing?job out there. Hopefully I get back out there tomorrow and then repay them for the favor that they had to cover for me.¡±