"Derek Lowe says he'll be ready to make Wednesday's start at Pittsburgh.

The Braves pitcher felt "great" when he tested his problematic right elbow Sunday, Lowe's first throws since having a cortisone shot Aug. 29 for inflammation related to a bone chip.

He missed a start Friday against Florida, but said he would be ready to pitch Wednesday. The Braves were relieved, since they weren't sure whom they'd turn to if Lowe couldn't go.

"At the end of the day it looks like we did the right thing taking some time off, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there," Lowe said after an anxious week. "I'm a high-energy guy. It's been hard to basically just come here and sit around and ice … but it's something you had to do."

Barring any setbacks in a bullpen session Monday, he will start Wednesday. He was confident he'd be ready, based on how he felt Sunday.

"I know, believe me," Lowe said. "This [playing catch] is the same thing I tried to do six days ago, when I came in and knew right away it wasn't going to be good the next day.

"The last three weeks between starts, I haven't really even played any catch. It's not like it disappeared, but we've obviously done what we set out to do, which is to let everything get calmed down, try to take out some of the inflammation."

He said there's been a chip in his elbow for some time, but that it wasn't a big problem until the past month after it became lodged in a crevice. He had an MRI Thursday that showed no ligament damage, and was assured pitching with the chip wouldn't increase the chance of major injury."