Chipper Jones swings through slump

Chipper Jones was mired in one of the worst slumps of his career, but the veteran third baseman took a philosophical approach when asked about it Sunday morning.

Then he went out and hit a home run in the first inning of the Braves’ 2-1 win against Boston at Turner Field.

Before that shot to the first row of the left-field seats, Jones had been 10-for-60 (.167) with one RBI his past 16 games, with as many errors (three) as extra-base hits (three, all doubles) during that stretch.

To say he wasn’t panicked would be an understatement.

“I’m a .310 lifetime hitter, and for the last few years I’ve hit .340,” Jones said in his deep, distinct drawl. “The numbers have to average out sometimes.”

Jones, 37, was precisely correct about his career average — .310 with a .408 on-base percentage and .546 slugging percentage before Sunday, when he hit his 417th home run and ninth this season.

During the past three seasons (2006-08), he hit .342 with a .435 OBP and .592 slugging percentage, including a career-high .364 average last season for his first batting title.

In the three previous seasons, he hit .283 with a .391 OBP and .516 slugging percentage.

This season, he’s batting .289 with a .404 OBP and .480 slugging percentage.

After homering off Brad Penny in the first inning Sunday, Jones grounded out in his next two plate appearances, and flied out his last time up.

He said he made a slight correction in his swing in the batting cage Sunday morning, but that his slump had more to do with recent opponents.

“A lot of it has to do with the way I’m being pitched,” Jones said. “Guys are just flat-out making pitches on me. When they do, they’re going to get outs … We’ve run into some guys who are executing pitches well.”

Jones had only two other stretches in the past seven seasons that were nearly as unproductive as his current one.

In 2002, he went 4-for-40 with one extra-base hit (double) and no RBI in a 13-game span beginning in late June.

In 2005, he was 6-for-47 (.128) with one RBI in a 14-game stretch in June and July that bridged a stint on the disabled list.

Immediately after the latter slump, he hit .463 with seven doubles, five homers and 21 RBI in his next 16 games.

The numbers

Sunday’s crowd of 41,463 pushed the total to 300,384 through seven games of the 10-game homestand, including six crowds in excess of 40,000 against the New York Yankees and Boston. Friday and Saturday games against the Red Sox drew sellouts of more than 48,000 … Sunday’s 2-1 win was only the fourth in the Braves’ past 16 games against the Red Sox. The Braves finished 7-8 in interleague play this season. … The Braves are 5-24 this season when they’ve scored two runs or fewer.