"Derek Lowe acknowledged Tuesday he's been bothered by inflammation in his pitching elbow for the past six weeks. He got a cortisone shot on Sunday after struggling to get a grip on his pitches while giving up five runs in a season-low three innings against the Marlins.

Lowe said with two days to let the cortisone take effect, he planned to play catch Tuesday and then throw a bullpen session on Wednesday. He did not think it would hinder him from making his next scheduled start on Friday in Florida.

"I should be able to," he said.

Lowe, who is 2-4 with a 4.93 ERA in his past nine starts, said he didn't tell the Braves about his elbow stiffness until three weeks ago."