Smoltz says his shoulder feels better

Smoltz said he is on track to make his first regular-season start on April 6 and said he had no recurrence of the shoulder stiffness he suffered on Friday, forcing him to be held out of a scheduled start for the Braves.

‘I just needed some time for it to settle down. It has settled down,’ Smoltz said. ‘Now I’ll approach it like anything else. I’ll take two days off, come down here and throw and just have my eyes on my next start on Sunday.’

Smoltz is expected to start the season on the disabled list. He hasn’t appeared in a major league game since March 15 so his time on the DL can be backdated.

Smoltz played catch in the outfield when he tested the shoulder for the first time on Tuesday, but he threw with normal effort on Thursday.

‘I was throwing like I was preparing for a game,’ he said. ‘The ball came out of my hand really good today. I’m a little behind on the control of some of my pitches, but that will come.’

Smoltz plans to come back to the Braves’ spring complex to throw in a minor league game before he starts for Atlanta against the New York Mets on April 6. The Braves, who open their season on Sunday at Washington, have an off day on Tuesday and won’t need a fifth starter before Smoltz’s first scheduled start.