Arlington, Texas — Chipper Jones asked what the date was Thursday afternoon after the Braves' loss to the Rangers, while he was filling out a check to tip the Texas visiting clubhouse attendants.

He might remember it for a while now, actually.

It was June 19, and Jones' batting average had just dipped under .400 for the first time in 10 weeks after he went 0-for-4 to drop to .394.

"I told my parents last night, I'll be glad when I get down to .390, so we can stop talking about it," said Jones, whose parents, Larry and Lynn Jones, came up from his Double Dime ranch in south Texas. "I didn't know it was going to happen all in one day, but it did."

He started the game right at .400 and then found four different ways to get out. He lined out, popped up, grounded out and struck out, all on nine pitches.

"I'm really struggling to be honest with you," Jones said. "Everything looks like a strike to me right now. I'll be glad to get back home and have some familiar surroundings where I feel like I know the strike zone."

He didn't mean how umpires are calling the strike zone. He meant being able to pick up the ball against a more familiar backdrop at Turner Field, rather than Anaheim and Texas, two stadiums the Braves rarely visit.

Jones' average was .420 when the Braves left on this 10-game trip. He went 6-for-30 (.200) during it, after missing the first game with a sore quadriceps and another one in Anaheim after taking a foul ball off his cheek. Those ailments have been much more of an issue, Jones said, than any media attention he has drawn for this.

"There has been some nagging stuff has affected me from time-to-time, but I will never let the outside distractions, media questions, affect the chess match between me and the pitcher," Jones said.

It's not out of the question for him to get back up over .400 with another good run. A 3-for-4 tonight and he would be at .399. But Jones isn't holding his breath.

"I never thought I would hit .400 so it's just a matter of time before it happened," Jones said. "Now that it's happened, let's stop talking about it and get back on a hot streak."

Lineup watch

Manager Bobby Cox said he was just doing as little tinkering with the DH in the lineup when he put Gregor Blanco in the leadoff spot for the third time this season Thursday. But Blanco, for one, wouldn't mind seeing it continue.

"Batting leadoff is more a part of my game," said Blanco, who hit leadoff throughout the minors but has hit mostly eighth with the Braves. "There are a lot of things I can do."

He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts while trying to make his case Thursday, but did draw a walk, steal a base and fought through a 15-pitch at-bat against left-hander Eddie Guardado before striking out in the eighth.