ATLANTA (Reuters) - Chipper Jones further staked his claim for National League MVP and the Atlanta Braves moved closer to their eighth straight division title with a three-game sweep of the New York Mets Thursday.

Jones' fourth home run of the series -- a three-run shot in a four-run fifth inning -- lifted the Braves to a 6-3 victory over the Mets and a four-game lead in the NL East with just nine games remaining.

Jones had four homes and seven RBI in the sweep, giving him 45 home runs and 105 RBI this season. The 45 homers are the most by a Braves player since Hank Aaron hit 47 in 1961.

The Braves have won seven of nine games from the Mets, clinching the season series in case of a tiebreaker.

The teams meet again for a three-game series beginning next Tuesday at Shea Stadium. This weekend, the Braves head to Montreal for three games while the Mets visit Philadelphia.

Turner Field continues to be a house of horrors for the Mets, who have lost 13 of their last 14 games here.

With hopes of winning the NL East title severely damaged, the Mets are now in the position of trying to hold off the Cincinnati Reds for the wild card berth. New York has a two-game lead over Cincinnati, which hosts St. Louis this weekend.

Greg Maddux (19-8) earned his third win in as many decisions against the Mets this year. He entered this game with 14 scoreless innings in his previous two starts. Today, he pitched seven innings and allowed three runs, two earned, and seven hits.

John Rocker, who proclaimed during this series he ``hates the Mets,'' earned a save in each game, raising his season total to 36.

Mets starter Al Leiter (11-12) lasted just five innings and surrendered five runs and 11 hits.

Mike Piazza hit a solo home run and set a Mets' single season record with his 118th RBI.