Washington — Tom Glavine's reunion season with the Braves is threatening to become a game of revolving disabled-list stints with John Smoltz. Not what the team had in mind for its venerable 40-something pitchers.

The Braves can only hope for the best Tuesday when Smoltz has his troublesome shoulder examined in Atlanta and Glavine tries to pick up some of the slack when he returns from his first-ever DL stint to face Washington.

Glavine, the 42-year-old left-hander, returns to the scene of the crime, so to speak: Nationals Park. It was there he strained his right hamstring in the first inning of an April 13 loss and left without recording an out, with two runs in.

"The good thing is that I've been able to throw at least a little bit," said Glavine, who had two bullpen sessions in the past week. "So it's not like I haven't picked up a ball.

"But there's still going to be some concerns for me, going out there, not having been out there in a while — that I might feel too strong or my command might not be where I want it to be."

Glavine (0-1) had no decisions but strong performances in both starts before the injury, allowing one earned run in 11 1/3 innings in those Braves losses.

He pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings at Colorado in a 2-1 loss on April 7, after agreeing to swap starts so Smoltz wouldn't have to pitch in the cold at Denver.

Now, the Braves hope Glavine can return to form and provide direly needed innings for an injury-plagued team and its overworked bullpen.

The Braves are 12-13, still only 1 1/2 games behind East Division rivals New York and Philadelphia before Monday. However, Atlanta's been beset by injuries, particularly to the pitching staff.

The Braves had alarming losses Saturday and Sunday at New York, when co-aces Tim Hudson and Smoltz allowed seven hits and four runs apiece in brief outings.

Hudson lasted just three innings for the second time in three starts, and Smoltz left after four erratic innings with a creaky shoulder, which he conceded had worsened beyond the point where he could make adjustments and be effective.

He will likely miss at least one start and might have to go back on the DL.

"It was more of a grind [Sunday] than it has been," Smoltz said after the game. He has dealt with varying degrees of shoulder discomfort since spring training, which forced him to begin the season on the DL.

"I want to make sure that if it's just rest, if that's what I need, then we're going to look at rest," he said. "I'm going to do what's best for not only me, but the club.

"I don't have answers right now. The next couple of days, we should know what path we're looking at."

General manager Frank Wren said Monday the Braves were working to finalize an appointment for Smoltz with the Braves orthopedist in Atlanta.

"We will know more about plans tomorrow," Wren said in an e-mail. "... He is coming back to Atlanta for further evaluation. Probably will have to skip his next start, but we will see."

They could use help about now from Glavine and another veteran lefty, Mike Hampton, who's recovering from a strained pectoral muscle and could be activated from the DL after one more minor-league rehab start.

But the Braves know not to raise their expectations too high when it comes to Hampton, who hasn't pitched in a major-league game in 32 months and has eight DL stints since 2005.

The Braves accumulated pitching depth and they've needed every bit just to get through the first weeks of the season. Chuck James and Jeff Bennett are potential replacements if Smoltz misses more time. The Braves are also fortunate to have three scheduled days off in an eight-day span through May 5.