NEW YORK -- A day after New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole exited his start because of tightness in his left hamstring, manager Aaron Boone said the star right-hander was feeling better about his situation.

"I think he's encouraged. I don't think we have anything definitive yet," Boone said before Wednesday night's 6-3 loss to Toronto.

"I think the next 24, 48 hours is going to determine where we move and how he responds, but I think he was encouraged by how he felt coming in here," he said.

Boone said Cole was not getting an MRI but also said the team would see "if that's in the cards."

Cole was pulled with two outs in the fourth inning of a 5-1 loss Tuesday.

Cole allowed three runs, two of them earned, and five hits in 3⅔ innings. He threw 70 pitches as the Blue Jays put together several lengthy at-bats against him.

Cole struck out two, tying Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler for the major league lead with 217.

He is 14-7 with a 2.78 ERA. He had been 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA in four starts since missing time following a positive test for COVID-19.

With the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays losing to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, the Yankees remained 9½ games back in the division but fell a half-game behind Boston for the top wild-card spot.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.