In the midst of facing five left-handed pitchers in a six-day span, the Braves went ahead and activated super utility player Omar Infante from the disabled list Thursday a few days earlier than they first planned.

Infante started at second base and went 1-for-3 with a single in his debut as a Brave. He also started a nice double play to save Jo-Jo Reyes a run in the first inning.

He got a month-late start on the season because of a broken hand suffered in winter ball in his native Venezuela.

Infante, a right-handed hitter, can play second base, third base, shortstop and center field. He will give manager Bobby Cox some options if he wants to replace the left-handed bats in the order at second (Kelly Johnson) or center field (Mark Kotsay) during this stretch.

The Braves will face three left-handed starters in four days of a four-game series this weekend in Pittsburgh. This comes after facing left-hander Randy Wolf and Wil Ledezma to finish out the series against the Padres.

Johnson is hitting .293 (12-for-41) against lefties but Kotsay is hitting only .182 (8-for-44).

The activation of Infante plus the addition of Greg Norton, who hit his second RBI pinch-hit single in as many games, gives the Braves the bench they were visualizing coming out of spring training.

"We have guys who can do a lot of different things," said general manager Frank Wren. "It just gives you flexibility, especially for double switches in the National League. There are a lot of things these guys can do."

To make room for Infante on the roster, the Braves put backup catcher Brayan Pena on the disabled list with a back strain.

Pena said he hurt it lifting something on the off-day Monday. He was in the process of moving. He said he had to have someone drive him to the ballpark on Tuesday he was so stiff.

Etc.

Mike Gonzalez took a week off from throwing in extended spring training after a minor setback with some scar tissue breaking up. A mid-May return is probably not going to happen now, but he's still on track to return by the end of May from his elbow ligament transplant surgery. Instead of coming directly to Atlanta from extended spring training at the end of next week, he's more likely to head out on a minor league rehabilitation assignment ... The Braves have not officially named a starter for Saturday's game in Pittsburgh. They will likely go with Chuck James but have to make another roster move to get him up from AAA Richmond. One possibility would be to disable Buddy Carlyle who came up with a stiff neck following a collision in the field Thursday.