Despite inflammation, no DL for Soriano

Yesterday's MRI on reliever Rafael Soriano's right elbow showed inflammation, manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday night. The Yankees did not place Soriano on the disabled list and are hopeful he'll be ready for this weekend's series against the Red Sox.

Girardi said he didn't think Soriano's problems are related to the serious elbow trouble he had in 2008, when the righthander was with Atlanta. Soriano was on the DL three times that season and finally had surgery Aug. 28. He appeared in only 14 games.

"Now it isn't [a concern], but if it reoccurs, then you start to get more concerned about it," Girardi said. "Hopefully, just a few days off will knock it out. Right now, I'm not comparing '08 to 2011, but if it keeps reoccurring, then you might have some similar issues."

Soriano said he first felt pain last week in Detroit. He has also missed time this season because of back stiffness.

Girardi said he will use a combination of David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain in place of Soriano. Both were impressive in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Royals, with Robertson working out of a seventh-inning jam and Chamberlain having a nine-pitch, two-strikeout eighth.

"His slider has been much more consistent this year," Girardi said of Chamberlain. "It's been more of a swing-and-miss pitch as opposed to at times he couldn't throw it close enough to the zone where he could get people to swing at it."

Extra bases

Reliever Luis Ayala was activated from the disabled list, where he had been since April 13 with a right shoulder strain. Lance Pendleton, who didn't allow a run in 61/3 innings, was shipped back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre . . . The Yankees had a moment of silence before the game for their former vice president of baseball operations Bill Bergesch and New York Daily News sports cartoonist and columnist Bill Gallo, both of whom passed away this week.