Cincinnati — After four days out of the lineup and one painful attempt to swing the bat Thursday, the Braves placed center fielder Mark Kotsay on the disabled list with a sore back.

They recalled Josh Anderson from Class AAA Richmond to fill his spot on the roster, though Gregor Blanco is expected to continue getting most of the work in center field. Greg Norton was in the lineup in left field Friday night.

After being examined by doctors in Atlanta on Friday, it was determined Kotsay would be out of action for only a week or two. The stint is retroactive to May 26, which means he would be eligible to come off the DL on June 10 in Chicago.

The Braves had originally considered disabling Kotsay on Tuesday in Milwaukee, but he felt some improvement the following day. But when Kotsay tried to swing on Thursday, manager Bobby Cox decided it was time for the move.

"I told him yesterday he's not going to get better for another week or two — well enough to really turn it loose," Cox said. "He tried [Thursday] about 11 a.m. to swing, and he just couldn't."

Kotsay has had back problems for the past several years in Oakland and had surgery in March 2007. He was limited to 56 games last year with the A's and said in hindsight he probably rushed back too quickly. Kotsay had played 47 of his first 50 games with the Braves before sitting out Monday's game with stiffness in his back.

In the meantime, Cox indicated he would use Anderson mostly in left field and to pinch run. Blanco has been starting in center field for the four days Kotsay has been out with this sore back.

Anderson just happened to get his first call-up as a Brave in Cincinnati, only three hours away from his hometown of Eubank, Ky. — population 360.

"There will probably be a whole lot of people from my hometown here today," said Anderson, who got eight tickets for family members.

Anderson played 21 games in the majors for the Astros last year, hitting .358 (24-for-67). He brings a five-game hitting streak with him back to the majors, dating to Sept. 25.

He had a chance to make the Braves roster out of spring training but got beat out for the fourth outfielder's spot by Blanco.

"It took about a week [to get over it]," Anderson acknowledges. "I was disappointed. It was one of those things that at the time wasn't meant to be. You can go around and think about it all day, makes you feel worse. I knew the sooner I got busy and just embraced where I was, things would get better."

Anderson used a five-game hitting streak in which he went 8-for-21 to raise his season average to .282 for Richmond. Batting leadoff and playing center field, Anderson had scored 26 runs, hit one homer, driven in 19 runs and stolen 13 bases in 51 games.

"Going down there was good for my confidence and good for me to get in the routine of every day playing center field, leading off," Anderson said.