MEDICAL WATCH: SS Yunel Escobar (sore left shoulder) aggravated the injury Sept. 

He said afterwards that the plate felt 54 feet away instead of 60, and the ball felt larger, but right-hander James Parr wowed manager Bobby Cox and his new teammates with his six-inning, two-hit shutout performance Thursday against the Nationals. 

Three-game winning streaks used to be commonplace for the Atlanta Braves, but they've only managed to record two of them in just over three months. 

The Atlanta Braves dropped out of the pennant race so long ago that Kelly Johnson has grown numb to losing. 

Top two-start pitchers of the week 

MEDICAL WATCH: 3B Chipper Jones (sore right knee) was scratched from the lineup Sept. 

MEDICAL WATCH: 3B Chipper Jones (sore right knee) was scratched from the lineup Sept. 

--3B Chipper Jones was back in the lineup after missing two games with a sore right knee. 

Third baseman Chipper Jones was back in the lineup Thursday, the swelling in his right knee having gone down and no new fluid developing. 

--3B Chipper Jones was back in the lineup after missing two games with a sore right knee. 

Third baseman Chipper Jones was back in the lineup Thursday, the swelling in his right knee having gone down and no new fluid developing. 

The Atlanta Braves may not be in contention for a playoff spot, but Chipper Jones is again competing for the NL batting title. 

James Parr pitched well in his last three starts with Triple-A Richmond and carried it over to his major league debut Thursday night. 

James Parr pitched well in his last three starts with Triple-A Richmond and carried it over to his major league debut Thursday night. 

Outfielder Josh Anderson was hitting up a storm and stealing bases galore at Class AAA Richmond.