ATLANTA -- Chipper Jones' wife, Sharon, threw the Braves third baseman an early surprise party on Sunday, and his gifts this week included a personalized guitar from the country music group Rascal Flatts.

But Jones waited until his actual birthday to really celebrate, and he did it in the way he usually does.

"I've always felt like I had to do something cool on my birthday," the veteran said.

He certainly did Thursday night, marking his 36th birthday with three hits, including a home run, as the Braves defeated the Marlins, 7-4, to split the two-game series at Turner Field.

"It was pretty much a perfect birthday," Jones said.

They usually are for the future Hall of Famer.

"We need to tell him tomorrow is his birthday, too," teammate Jeff Francoeur said.

Jones is batting .500 (18-for-36) on April 24 as a Major Leaguer, with four homers and eight RBIs. He was 3-for-3 with an intentional walk against Florida, raising his Major League-leading average for the year to .442, and he has seven home runs and 20 RBIs.

"Chipper had a great birthday," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "I think every day has been his birthday this year."

The Braves needed the win to get back to .500 going into the weekend series with the Mets in New York, and Jones' birthday bash came with a nice comic touch.

"There are certain times in the course of the season where you can't help but belly laughing," Jones said. "That was certainly one of them."

Catcher Brian McCann's first Major League triple, which led to an insurance run in the eighth inning, prompted plenty of amazed looks and was followed by laughter in the Braves' dugout.

"Lighting strikes only once," Braves reliever Will Ohman cracked. "He had a better chance of being a swimsuit model."

The slow-footed McCann, further hampered by a sore shin, stunningly made it to third base and punctuated the triple with a belly flop.

"I knew I was going to get [grief] if I didn't go," said McCann, who surprisingly had five triples in the Minors. "I may never get another triple."

"That's pretty much the way Pete Rose drew it up," Jones said. "The triple was one thing, but the belly flop into third was tremendous.

"It was a perfect topper for a perfect day."

"I even had to laugh going up to the plate," said Francoeur, who picked up his third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly thanks to McCann's dash. "It was fun to watch."

So was Jones' performance at the plate.

Jones singled in the Braves' five-run first inning, homered in the second, singled again in the fifth and was walked intentionally in the seventh.

After the Braves went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position while losing to Florida, 7-2, in Wednesday's series opener, the first three hitters came through in that situation against Burke Badenhop, who was making his third Major League start.

Mark Teixeira had a RBI single, Francoeur stroked a two-run double and Matt Diaz produced a two-run single.

Chuck James (2-1) improved to 4-1 lifetime against Florida although he was far from at his best. The left-hander allowed four runs -- all driven in by Josh Willingham -- and walked five in five innings. Willingham had a single, a double and a two-run homer.

It got worse for James after the game, when he was optioned to Triple-A Richmond.

The Braves have two off-days next week and will bring up a pitcher Friday to bolster the bullpen, which had struggled the past two games.

That wasn't the case Thursday, however.

Jorge Campillo and Manny Acosta each pitched two scoreless innings against the Marlins, with Acosta getting his second career save.

"It's great to get a little momentum to go into New York," Cox said.

Jones has always thrived at Shea Stadium, despite the constant chant of "Larry! Larry! Larry!" In fact, he named a son Shea.

"I think this is a crucial weekend for us," Jones said. "The Mets have the back end of their rotation and we have the front end of ours going. Hopefully, we'll get a series win."

Jones had four hits when the Braves took two games from the Mets in Atlanta the first weekend of the season, and he hasn't cooled off yet.

"The last few days have been special," Jones said. "But, yeah, the whole year has been pretty good so far."