For the first time maybe all season, Rafael Soriano sounded encouraged about the state of his right elbow Friday.

He plans to throw a 15-pitch bullpen session Saturday and if all goes well, he'll be activated from the disabled list as early as Sunday.

"They said maybe Monday, and I said if it feels good tomorrow, why wait until Monday," Soriano said.

Soriano touched 93 mph Thursday in the last of his three outings in the Dominican Summer League, and that was with a radar gun he thought was slow.

"I threw fastball yesterday, good control and everything," he said. "I threw very good. I feel great."

Soriano said he had to go to the Dominican because of a family problem, and it worked out well that he could throw in the Braves' camp there.

Soriano has missed all but two weeks this season and seemed to feel pain in the elbow every time he tried to come back. But when asked if he still felt a little pain Friday, Soriano said: "No, not right now."

Injury updates

• Yunel Escobar was still out of the lineup Friday despite having nine days to rest his sore left shoulder. He was to be evaluated by Braves doctors Friday night and was hoping to be cleared for batting practice Saturday.

"It's a little bit better today," Escobar said.

• Matt Diaz was also waiting to hear whether team doctors would OK him playing without a bulky brace on his left knee. Diaz has been out since May 28 with a strained posterior cruciate ligament. He's been wearing a softer brace in recent workouts.

"I've been doing everything on it for four days and my knee has responded well to not having that other brace pulling and tugging every which way on my knee," Diaz said.

• Omar Infante (hamstring) took batting practice Friday and is on target to be activated when he's eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday in Florida. Manager Bobby Cox said Manny Acosta (hamstring) will probably not be ready Tuesday.

"Acosta he had a major pull there; it bled out," Cox said.