NEW YORK (Kyodo) Atlanta Braves right-hander Kenshin Kawakami will take his regular turn in the rotation in Monday's series opener against the Florida Marlins, the club said Sunday.
Kawakami was to make way for Tim Hudson to take his starting spot but he will now pitch as initially scheduled, with Hudson's much-anticipated first start since undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right elbow a year ago put back to Tuesday.
"Kawakami is fine to pitch," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox told the Braves' official Web site.
"It's his regular turn. We wanted to give him a breather, so we'll just give him a breather after this. We just can't afford to drop somebody off of our team for one day."
Kawakami took his 10th loss of the season after throwing 5 1/3 shaky innings in a 12-5 defeat to the San Diego Padres Wednesday.