Larry Wayne Jones has officially moved into high cotton among baseball's all-time sluggers.

The man who answers to "Chipper" added a dollop of history —- his 400th career home run —- to a 7-5 come-from-behind Braves victory against the Florida Marlins on Thursday night at Turner Field.

"Just an awesome all-around night," Jones said after becoming the 43rd player in the 400-homer club, doing it in style amidst a four-hit performance that raised his major league-leading batting average to a startling .418.

"I guess I've seen every single one of them," said Braves manager Bobby Cox, the only manager Jones has played for during a 15-year career. "He's one great player. Four hits tonight with a home run. ...

"He's just having a fabulous season. Getting better with age."

The landmark homer was Jones' 14th of the season, a two-out solo shot to right field off of Ricky Nolasco in the sixth inning that pushed the Braves' lead to 7-5. They won the series 3-1, coming from behind in all three of their wins.

The 36-year-old third baseman got a standing ovation and a curtain call, stepping out of the dugout to wave his helmet to an adoring crowd of 27,238.

"Crossing home plate, all I could think about was my family," said Jones, who looked up and saw his wife, Sharon, and their children celebrating in a private suite.

He said his parents were watching on TV at Jones' Texas ranch.

"I'm sure Dad was bouncing off the walls and Mom was crying —- Mom will cry at the drop of a hat," he said.

It was the major league-leading 29th multi-hit game this season for Jones, who leads the Braves with 14 homers and 39 RBIs.

"He's doing OK," veteran pitcher Tom Glavine cracked. "Seems like he's figuring things out a little bit. That's good. Good for us."

Surprisingly, the curtain call was only Jones' second in Atlanta, the other coming after he hit his fourth homer of a crucial late-season series against the New York Mets in 1999, the year he won the National League MVP award.

He ranked Thursday's homer second on his career thrill list, behind only the World Series the Braves won in his 1995 rookie season.

The Braves also got home runs from Yunel Escobar and Brian McCann, overcoming a rough start by rookie Jair Jurrjens to move back within one game of second-place Florida and stay 3 1/2 behind National League East leader Philadelphia.

The Phillies come to town for a three-game weekend series at Turner Field that starts tonight.

The Braves are a sizzling 25-8 at home but just 7-21 on the road. They'll start a 10-game road trip Tuesday at Chicago against the Cubs, the only team in the majors with a better home record (26-8) than the Braves.

Jones is the third Braves player in the 400-homer club, joining the great Hank Aaron and Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews. He's only the third switch-hitter to hit as many as 400 homers, after Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504).

Jones also became the fourth active player with at least a .300 career average, 400 homers and 1,300 RBIs, joining the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, Boston's Manny Ramirez and Oakland's Frank Thomas.

The 400th homer was caught by Jeff Bailey, a Braves fan from Rockmart sitting in the right-field seats with his wife and two young children. Bailey was whisked to the Braves clubhouse after the game and exchanged the historic ball for a signed bat and three balls —- which he said he didn't ask for.

"I told him I don't want anything —- just wanted my kids to meet him," Bailey said, holding his young daughter in one hand and the bat with Jones' signature and "400" on it in the other hand. "I wanted him to have his ball."

NEXT FOR BRAVES

> Who: vs. Phillies

> When: 7:30 p.m. today

> TV; radio: WPCH; 94.9 FM, 640 AM