Denver — It will probably be a few more days before Mike Hampton can begin throwing again. The veteran pitcher was placed on the 15-day DL after straining a left pectoral muscle in his chest during his pregame warmup Thursday.

That was to have been his first major league game in 31 1/2 months for the oft-injured left-hander, who missed the past two seasons recovering from elbow surgeries. But Hampton was scratched minutes before the first pitch.

"It feels a little better every day," he said Monday. "I still feel it [strain] some. Just treatment so far. I'll see how it feels the next couple of days before I see when to start throwing again."

He's traveling with the team and will watch from the visiting dugout or clubhouse at Coors Field as the Braves face the Rockies, the team that gave him his eight-year, $121 million contract before the 2001 season.

He was traded to the Braves after the 2002 season.

Gonzalez

The Braves believe they'll have left-hander Mike Gonzalez back by the first week of June, and he continues to buoy their confidence with steady progress in his recovery from May 31 elbow ligament replacement surgery.

He faced hitters in live batting practice during the weekend and next week he's scheduled to see his first game action in nearly a year when he pitches in the extended-spring training program in Florida.

Etc.

When center fielder Mark Kotsay threw to first base to double off the Mets' Carlos Delgado in the fourth inning Sunday, he raised his totals to 112 assists and 31 double plays since 1998. He leads the majors in both categories in that period, ahead of the Angels' Vladimir Guerrero (107 and 28). ... John Smoltz's six strikeouts Sunday raised his total to 2,981, 50 behind the Mets' Pedro Martinez for 15th on the all-time list.