BALTIMORE -- The New York Yankees have placed closer David Robertson on the 15-day disabled list after tests revealed the right-hander suffered a strained left oblique while pitching against the Seattle Mariners on May 11.
The Yankees announced the move roughly three hours before Tuesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles, but did not reveal how much time Robertson will miss.
Robertson suffered the injury in his first appearance following that loss, when he pitched in a non-save situation against the Mariners on Friday. He felt pain the next day and was unavailable to the Yankees over the next three games, including Monday night's 8-5 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.
Rafael Soriano, the Yankees' set-up man, came on to close on Monday and earned his second save of the year.
"I'm not too concerned about it," Robertson said Monday night before being sent back to New York for tests that revealed the injury.
Robertson's injury comes only eight days after he was handed the closer role following Mariano Rivera's season-ending torn ACL on May 3 in Kansas City. In Rivera's absence, Robertson had been brought in to close two games. He saved the first one, on May 8 against the Tampa Bay Rays, but took the loss the following night when he allowed four ninth-inning runs in a 4-1 Tampa Bay victory.
To take his place on the roster, the Yankees recalled right-handed reliever Cody Eppley from their AAA farm club at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
