The Braves finally scored a run. They’d been shut out their last three games, but today in the bottom of the fourth inning, Chipper Jones hit a solo home run off of Justin Verlander to cut the Tigers’ lead to 2-1.

The homer was surprising because Chipper wasn’t even supposed to play today. Bobby Cox had even hinted that Chipper might be going back on the DL. But Chipper said he felt pressured to play. From the AJC:

When asked if he is rushing his return, Jones said: “Probably. But I feel a little backed into a corner.”

Asked to elaborate, Jones indicated some doubted he was injured enough to miss games.

“Let’s just say there are people who don’t believe me,” Jones said. “Let’s just say that and leave it at that.”

Who was pressuring Chipper? Maybe John Smoltz, who had this to say after Friday night’s loss:

“You can’t worry about who’s in the lineup and who isn’t. You can’t worry about that stuff anymore.”Added Smoltz: “I certainly appreciate the effort of the guys who are on the field busting it.”

Jeez, John. Relax! Chipper’s doing his best.

Chipper looked pretty good hitting his home run. But on the pitch before he nearly fell to the ground in pain after hitting a foul ball. No doubt Chipper is feeling some discomfort with every swing. And fielding can’t be a picnic either.

I’m guessing Chipper’s probably gonna need a beer after this one is over. Lucky for him his favorite restaurant has several locations in Atlanta AND they’re trying harder than ever to cater to the whole family, so Chippy can bring the wife and kids with him.

This was quick, even for Chipper. From the AP:

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones sprained his left ankle on his first at-bat Monday and was removed from the game St. Louis.

Jones broke awkwardly from the box on a grounder to first and jogged a few steps before turning around and limping to the dugout. The team said Jones, who has been plagued by foot problems in recent seasons, was day to day.

Jones is batting .222 (4-for-18) this spring with one double and two RBIs.

A lot players, as they get older, make the move to the AL so that they can continue to pile up stats and pad their Hall of Fame candidacies as a DH (see: Mike Piazza). But Chipper needs more than just a DH role. He is gonna have to start playing the game over the internet from the safety of a padded room. And even then, he’d probably still develop carpal tunnel syndrom.

Of course, there is one possibility here that probably needs mentioning. Sarah Green is taking in some Cactus League action in Tucson this week and yesterday reported that she and intrepid gal-pal Suz Tolwinski won Hooters coupons at the Diamondbacks game. Now, I don’t know if the Braves offer similar Hooters giveaways, but if they do it’s a good bet that Chipper got his hands on a few of those coupons and is just faking the ankle sprain so that he can spend his afternoons lunching at his favorite restaurant.

Just when it looked like the Braves were primed to pull off a worst to first finish, the team gets some more bad news. The Jones boys are hurt — Chipper and Andruw.

Chipper is suffering from a strained oblique, while Andruw is experiencing tightness in between his shoulder Blades, according to the AJC. First, the dirt on Chipper:

[Chipper] hurt his side on a swing in the first inning Friday night, but he stayed in the game and singled in the fourth to stretch his hitting streak to a career-best 20 games.

“I tried to kill the ball and it took the breath out of me,” Jones said. “I was concerned [Friday night]. I think it will be better in a couple of days.

“I got a few rounds of treatment in [Saturday], which was good, and didn’t miss a game. Hopefully, I’ll have a restful night and we’ll see how I feel. But it hurt.”

During his hitting streak, which featured a record-tying 14 consecutive games with an extra-base hit, Jones is batting .512 (42-for-82) with eight home runs and 24 RBIs.

Asked if he thought Jones would miss the rest of the Phillies series, Cox said, “It’s day-to-day. Chipper heals pretty fast. I don’t know. I really can’t tell you.”

Now here’s what they’re saying about Anruw:

“It kept getting stiffer and stiffer during the game, and I woke up feeling really bad,” Jones said. “I’ll take a muscle relaxer and see how it feels [Sunday].

“If it’s not OK, I’ll probably sit out. I don’t want to go out there and mess my swing up. I feel good with my swing right now.”

Andruw Jones has been almost as hot as Chipper Jones. In his past 11 games, Andruw Jones is batting .333 with six homers and 20 RBIs. He had five hits, including two homers, and six RBIs on Tuesday in St. Louis.

Neither of these injuries sound very serious, but at this time of year, considering how much ground the Braves have to make up, they can’t afford to be playing without their stars for even short stretches of time.