Torrid Jones hits No. 400
BRAVES 7, MARLINS 5
Associated Press
Friday, June 06, 2008

ATLANTA --- Chipper Jones hit his 400th career home run Thursday night and finished with four hits in a 7-5 victory over the Florida Marlins, raising his major league-leading batting average to .418.

Jones came out of the dugout for what he said was only the second curtain call of his career as fans cheered his milestone homer in the sixth inning. He became the third switch-hitter to reach 400 home runs, following Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504).

"To be lumped in with those guys is what I'm shooting for," Jones said. "This is a step closer but still a long, long way from those guys. They set the bar really high."

Brian McCann gave the Braves a 6-5 lead in the fifth with a two-run shot. Yunel Escobar also connected.

The three homers came off Ricky Nolasco (5-4).

"He makes you pay when you go over the middle of the plate," Nolasco said of Jones. "I made a mistake and he made me pay.

"He's been doing it for years, and he's not going to stop anytime soon."

Jair Jurrjens (6-3) gave up a season-high 11 hits and five runs in six innings but won as the Braves rallied from a 5-3 deficit.

Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his third save, one night after Atlanta's Manny Acosta gave up four runs in the ninth inning to blow a two-run lead. Soriano pitched around Mike Jacobs' one-out double.

Jones lifted his batting average from .409 by going 4-for-5 with singles in the first, third and eighth. He hit his 14th homer of the season about 10 rows deep into the right-field seats with two outs in the sixth.

"He never came up in a situation where we could pitch around him," said Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, a former Braves coach. "He's sure not missing. He's locked in. I've never seen him this hot for this long."

Jones paused to admire the blast before beginning his jog around the bases.

"I'm glad it wasn't a loss so I can enjoy it," said Jones, who called the homer "a huge monkey off my back."

From the Friday, June 06, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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