ATLANTA — Brandon Jones knew his second-inning at-bat on Friday night was the perfect opportunity to give the Atlanta Braves a lift in the game and perhaps give himself a lift in the competition for a 2009 roster spot.

The rookie outfielder delivered.

Jones hit a bases-loaded double to drive in three runs in a seven-run third inning as the Braves beat the Washington Nationals 10-5. The three RBIs matched his high, and the rookie was back in Saturday night's starting lineup in right field.

"I was in a good opportunity to drive in some runs," Jones said. "I just tried to put the ball in play and luckily I found the gap."

Jones says he knows that a strong September could be important to his hopes of winning a roster spot and perhaps even a starting job next season.

Jones hit a combined 19 homers and drove in 100 runs while hitting .295 at Triple-A Richmond and Double-A Mississippi last season. He was named player of the year at Mississippi, where he hit 15 homers and drove in 74 runs in 94 games.

That's the kind of power numbers team expect, and the Braves have lacked this season, from their corner outfielders.

Jones also has suffered from a lack of power this season. He was hitting only .260 with only 8 homers and 53 RBIs in 346 at-bats when he was recalled from Richmond on Aug. 20. Jones also was with Atlanta for 16 games in June.

"This season has been a downfall for the power numbers," he said. "I try not to think about it."

The 25-year-old Jones was ranked by Baseball America as the fifth-best prospect in the Southern League last year. The left-handed hitting Jones is not a big threat to steal bases, so he needs to show more power potential to be viewed as a possible answer to this season's revolving door in left field.

Jones started in right field on Saturday night as Braves manager Bobby Cox gave Jeff Francoeur a day off. Francoeur left Friday night's game after he was hit by a pitch on his left hip in the fifth inning.

Francoeur took batting practice before Saturday's game.

Jurrjens ends drought 

Rookie right-hander Jair Jurrjens has been the bright spot in a Braves rotation which has been ravaged by injuries, but Jurrjens went almost a month without a win before earning the victory on Friday night.

Jurrjens (12-9) gave up only one earned run on six hits in five innings for his first win since Aug. 9.

Jurrjens acknowledges he has felt the toll of throwing 170 1-3 innings, and he says he has cut back on his throwing between starts in an effort to stay fresh.

But Jurrjens said "thinking way too much" was the reason he went through a drought. The rookie said he may have relied too much on input from veterans Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

"It's not a bad thing having Glavine and Smoltz in your bullpen, but a certain point you've got to cut off where you're not thinking so much and taking that out to the game," Jurrjens said.

"I'd be thinking, at this point in my mechanics I'd be here, I'd be there. Instead of just trusting just to throw the ball and not worry about my mechanics. ... I was thinking way too much. Every time I was throwing a bullpen there was somebody with me."

Jurrjens leads the team and National League rookies in wins and has a 3.54 ERA, also tops among NL rookies.