By JAY COHEN
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK(AP) -- Forget all that retirement talk. Chipper Jones is
starting to swing the bat again.

Jones homered and drove in four runs to power the Atlanta Braves
to an 11-3 victory over the New York Mets on Monday night.

"The hitting just exploded tonight," Braves manager Bobby Cox
said. "Long balls good to see once in a while when there's a
couple guys on base."

Worn down by injuries, Jones has talked openly about calling it
quits if he struggles again next season. But the switch-hitter
has shown some signs of life in his last six games, batting .350
(7 for 20) to help the Braves keep their faint playoff hopes
alive.

"It's coming," Jones said. "Right-handed, I feel a lot better.
Left-handed is still, as you saw in the last couple at-bats,
it's just not there yet. But it's good to contribute the last
couple days. Almost makes the game fun again."

Garret Anderson and Matt Diaz also connected for the Braves, who
have won nine of 11. They moved within five games of idle
Colorado for the NL wild-card lead with 12 games left.

"Mathematically, we're still in it, even though it's going to be
tough," right-hander Derek Lowe said. "But as long as we keep
winning, put the pressure on everybody else, that's all you can
do."

Atlanta opened a six-game trip with its most runs since it set a
season high in a 15-2 win at New York on Aug. 19. Martin Prado
had three hits, Nate McLouth scored three times and Lowe (15-9)
pitched five innings to help the Braves improve to 11-5 against
the Mets this season.

Daniel Murphy homered and Luis Castillo had two hits for New
York, which has lost seven of nine. Castillo was replaced by
Anderson Hernandez with Atlanta leading 11-1 in the fourth and
All-Star third baseman David Wright was taken out in the sixth.

Murphy, who doubled and scored in the second, is batting .358
(19 for 53) with three homers and 12 RBIs in his last 14 games.

"I like the way Daniel Murphy is swinging the bat," said manager
Jerry Manuel, searching for something positive in New York's
latest loss. "He's really coming on."

Atlanta jumped all over Pat Misch (1-4), scoring four times in
each of the first two innings. Anderson capped the scoring in
the first with a two-run drive into the second deck in right and
Diaz started the second with a liner into the seats in
left-center.

"I really threw bad pitches," Misch said. "Just elevated, too
much plate. The last two starts I haven't pitched down low."

Jones drove in the Braves' first run with a groundout and chased
Misch with a towering three-run drive to left in the second for
his 17th homer and first since Aug. 29, at Philadelphia.

The 37-year-old third baseman has a .324 batting average, 42
homers and 133 RBIs in 203 games against New York. It was his
first homer at Citi Field after hitting 19 at Shea Stadium, his
most at any opponent's ballpark.

"He's starting to come around a little bit and he's starting to
feel good," Cox said.

Lowe allowed three runs and six hits, and helped himself at the
plate with his sixth career two-hit game. Kenshin Kawakami
pitched four innings of one-hit ball for his first career save.

Lowe left his previous start Wednesday against the Mets after
two innings because of a blister on his right ring finger. He
developed a cut on his right thumb Monday night but said he
should be fine for his next start.

"It's always something with me," he said with a grin.

The right-hander reached the 15-win mark for the fourth time in
his career and first since he went 16-8 for the Dodgers in 2006.

NOTES: Jones on his retirement talk causing a bit of a stir
among Mets fans: "They still got one more year of coming out and
ragging on me. So New Yorkers can rest assured that they'll have
me in an Atlanta Braves uniform for at least one more year." ...
Anderson Hernandez hit New York's 46th triple of the season in
the fifth inning, one shy of the franchise record set in 1978
and equaled in 1996. ... Atlanta's last four-inning save was
recorded by Mark Grant on Oct. 2, 1990, in a 16-7 victory at San
Francisco. ... Misch's four-out start was the shortest of his
career. His previous low was four innings. ... Manuel wouldn't
commit to keeping Misch in the rotation.