A day after Matsui strained his left hamstring running out a grounder, the Yankees put him on the 15-day DL. New York, short on outfielders, planned to recall Kevin Thompson from Triple-A Scranton of the International League.

"When you play baseball this long, these things happen. There's nothing you can do about it," Matsui said through a translator. "I knew, of course, I wouldn't be able to talk them out of it. By not going on the DL, I would be inconveniencing the team, so I accepted it."

Center fielder Johnny Damon hasn't started since last Monday's opener because of a strained right calf, but he did enter in the late innings Saturday and today. Miguel Cairo — normally an infielder — started in left field today against Baltimore.

Before replacing Matsui on Saturday, Cairo had made only five outfield appearances since 2003. With the Yankees heading to Minnesota for a three-game series on the Metrodome turf, manager Joe Torre wants to be cautious with Damon.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said an MRI exam showed a small amount of blood near Matsui's injury.

"It's something we just don't want to play with," Cashman said. "Our experience is that it usually takes 15 days or so."

Last year, second baseman Robinson Cano injured a hamstring running the bases on June 25 and didn't return until Aug. 8.

Matsui didn't want any days off after joining the Yankees in 2003. His streak started with the Yomiuri Giants (1,250 games) and continued with the Yankees (518) until last year, when he was sidelined from May 11 to Sept. 12 with a broken left wrist.

Citing Matsui's great condition, Torre attributed the hamstring injury to the temperature, which has been in the 30s for much of the homestand.