Star right-hander Carlos Zambrano has a minor strain in his right shoulder but no major structural damage, a team spokesman said after the Cubs' 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Zambrano underwent an MRI arthogram, a test in which dye is injected into the troubled area to provide a more detailed look, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Friday and headed home. He will meet with the trainers and coaching staff on Saturday.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella has said Zambrano will miss his scheduled start against Baltimore on Tuesday. But the plan beyond that is unclear.
"We'll evaluate tomorrow and see what we'll do," Piniella said.
Even so, Cubs spokesman Peter Chase said, "the results are encouraging."
Zambrano left Wednesday night's game at Tampa Bay because of discomfort in his right shoulder and was examined Thursday in Chicago by team orthopedist Dr. Stephen Gryzlo. Zambrano was originally set to have an MRI exam Thursday, but the Cubs decided instead on the arthogram.
Zambrano won a career-high 18 games in 2007 and was off to a strong start for the NL Central leaders, going 8-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 16 starts. But when the two-time NL All-Star winced after throwing a pitch in the seventh inning on Wednesday, so did the rest of the organization.
On Friday, there was some sense of relief.
"That's good news," said Aramis Ramirez, who hit a game-ending homer. "If Zambrano goes down, that's a big loss for us."
Chase also said X-rays taken Friday on Alfonso Soriano's broken left hand showed "the bone is healing well. The timetable remains the same at this point." Soriano was injured when he was hit by a pitch from Atlanta's Jeff Bennett in the second inning of a game on June 11.
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