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BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Chipper Jones is starting to regain the form
that won him the National League's MVP award last season.
"I had two or three good at-bats today; that gives me something
to build on," he said after homering from both sides of the plate
Sunday in the Atlanta Braves' 11-2 rout of Philadelphia, which
completed a three-game sweep of the Phillies.
|  | | Chipper Jones, right, homered from both sides of the plate and Andruw Jones missed hitting for the cycle by a single. |
Jones, 0-for-7 in the first two games of the series, hit a
two-run homer from the left side against Paul Byrd (1-3) in the
first and a solo shot from the right side against Trever Miller in
the seventh.
It was the fourth time he has hit homers from both sides, with
the others coming last season. It was his 14th two-homer game
overall.
"I just spread (my stance) out a little more and put some good
swings on some balls," said Jones, hitting .301 this season with
eight homers and 25 RBI.
Andruw Jones missed hitting for the cycle by a single. He had an
RBI double in the first, a two-run homer in the second and a triple
in the fifth.
Trying to become the first Braves player to hit for the cycle
since Albert Hall on Sept. 23, 1987, and just the fifth player in
the club's history, Jones was robbed of a single when Trever Miller
caught a liner up the middle in the seventh.
"I really thought I had it," said Jones, who has hits in 29 of
his last 34 games, hitting .328 during that span with nine homers
and 19 RBI.
"I was trying to hit the ball up the middle," Jones said. "I
made contact and saw the pitcher went down to make the play. That
was tough, a lot of people haven't ever hit for the cycle. I had my
shot, I hope I get that shot again."
He did, but struck out in the eighth on three Scott Aldred
sliders.
John Burkett (2-2) allowed five hits in seven shutout innings.
"I had good command of my fastball and that's always key for
me," said Burkett, who has won his last two starts and has struck
out 13 in his last 13 innings. "That pitch sets up everything
else."
Atlanta is averaging eight runs a game during his starts.
"They did it again, the boys can put a lot of points on the
board," Burkett said.
Burkett, who signed with the team March 29 after being
released by Tampa Bay, has been a surprise.
"He thrown great, better than what we anticipated," manager
Bobby Cox said. "You look at the lines in a couple of his earlier
games and it might not have shown that, but he has really thrown
well every time out there."
Bobby Abreu hit a two-run homer off Greg McMichael in the
eighth.
Atlanta took a 3-0 lead before Byrd recorded an out. Rafael
Furcal led off with a single, Andruw Jones doubled and Chipper
Jones homered.
Byrd, who missed his last scheduled start with a strained groin
muscle, appeared to compose himself after the Jones homer as he
struck out the side.
But Byrd yielded three more runs in the second and lasted just
three innings, his second-shortest outing of the season. He
surrendered six runs and six hits.
"I was frustrated," Byrd said. "My pitches were off
considerably. I felt fine physically. We needed a win but the
outing I gave today was the last thing we needed."
Things began to look somewhat positive for the Phillies, who
came into the weekend home stand after a 4-2 road trip that brought
the team within 8½ games of the Braves.
"It's tough because we had the opportunity to continue the good
things we had accomplished on the road," Phillies managed Terry
Francona said. "Now, we're back where we started when we began the
homestand."
Atlanta padded its lead to 6-0 in the second. Keith Lockhart
opened with a single and, after straying too far off first on
Burkett's fly ball, returned safely when Abreu's throw from right
field was in the dirt.
No error was charged, and the Braves took advantage when Furcal
doubled in Lockhart and Andruw Jones hit his 10th home run.
"It wasn't an error, but that play hurt," Francona said.
"There's a huge difference between being down 3-0 and 6-0."
Mark DeRosa had a three-run, pinch-hit double in the eighth, his
first major league RBI.
Game notes
Phillies 3B Scott Rolen wasn't in the starting lineup for
the first time this season. He was the only Phillies player to
appear in each of the first 35 games. ... 1B Chris Pritchett made
his Phillies debut. Promoted from Triple-A when Rico Brogna went on
the disabled list with a broken wrist, Pritchett went 1-for-3 ...
Six of Chipper Jones' homers this season have been from the left
side. In 1997 and 1998, he hit 52 of his 55 homers as a lefty. For
his career, only 29 of his 161 homer have come as a righty. ... It
was the Braves' first three-game sweep at Veterans Stadium since
June 20-22, 1997.
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