But there was a definite sense of relief on Millwood's face after the Braves' Monday night 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The 27-year old hurler had just given more indication that he has put his arm problems behind him and is ready to return to the dominant form he displayed early in his career.

"You can tell he is healthy just by the way the ball is coming out of his hand," Greg Maddux said.

Making his second start of the season, Millwood allowed the Phillies just one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings. Two of the four hits came in the eighth and accounted for the only run the Phillies could manage off the Braves right-hander.

"Curveball, slider and changeup," Millwood said. "I had everything working tonight."

Millwood's curveball seemed to be a major part of his arsenal on an evening in which he struck out eight. The Phillies were caught looking at strike three four times.

"My curveball was as good as it's been in two years," Millwood said. "My curveball tonight was the one I had in '99. That's what I've been looking for, for a long time."

While Millwood has been looking for his curve, opponents have been happy that they haven't had to see the same Braves right-hander that was so impressive in his first two Major League seasons.

"It was the best I've seen him throw in a while so it surprised me," Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal said.

Millwood, who finished third in the 1999 Cy Young Award voting, has battled shoulder problems during each of the past two seasons. Consequently, he has combined to win just 17 games. The previous two seasons, which were his first in the Braves rotation, he won a combined 35 games.

"The health factor is no longer an issue," Millwood said. "Health-wise, I feel like I did when I broke into the big leagues."

But after his teammate struggle through the two injury-plagued seasons, Maddux thinks Millwood might be even more dangerous than he was in his early years.

"He's pitching better," Maddux said. "He's not just throwing. He's pitching. Results don't always mean everything. Just the way he got strike one on some guys tonight proved he was pitching. It's just a strike. But you wouldn't have seen him do that before."

There was one specific instance in Monday night's game in which Millwood had to be more of a pitcher than a thrower.

In the seventh inning, it appeared he might be tiring. Bobby Abreu singled on the inning's first pitch and quickly the Braves bullpen was scurrying. But two pitches later, Millwood got Scott Rolen to hit a rally-killing, double-play grounder to Rafael Furcal.

"That was probably the biggest pitch that I made all night," Millwood said. "(Rolen) is tough hitter. Anytime you get him to hit a ground ball, you feel good."

Millwood's first two starts of the season have Cox feeling good. In his first start of the season which came on April 3, Millwood allowed the Phillies three earned runs on eight hits in seven innings. After the game, Bobby Cox said he hadn't seen Millwood look that good in a long time.

But after Monday's game, Cox seemed to be even more impressed with his right-hander.

"Millwood was outstanding," Cox said. "I thought he was better tonight than the first night."

Millwood, who is now 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA in seven games at Veterans Stadium, watched from the clubhouse during a tense ninth inning in which John Smoltz had to escape a first and third, no out, situation.

"It's defininitely nerve-wracking to watch an inning like that," Millwood said. "But if there was anyone I wanted out there, it was John."

That's the way Millwood's teammates are going to start feeling about him if he continues to produce the same kind of starts that he has in his first two starts of the season. They resemble the ones he made in his first two years in the rotation.

"Actually, I think he is better than he was," Maddux said. "To me, he looks better."

Mark Bowman covers the Braves for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Jones celebrated his birthday by being an integral part of a two-run rally in the eighth inning of the Braves 4-3 win over the defending World Champion Diamondbacks at Turner Field on Wednesday night.

"The three home runs on my birthday would have been nice," Jones said. "But that might have been a bit of a pipe dream. I'll certainly take being part of a game-winning rally any day. It's more fun when you can all be a part of something together."

Jones' single in the eighth scored Rafael Furcal with the game-tying run and put Andruw Jones in position to score on Henry Blanco's game-winning single to right field later in the inning.

"When he gets in a situation like that, he has to come through," Andruw Jones said of Chipper. "He's always done that for us. That's why he's an MVP. That's why he's an All-Star.

With two hits on Wednesday night, Jones raised his batting average to .298 this season. He has hit over .300 each of the past four seasons and owned a .307 career average coming into the season.

"Chipper is going to get his hits," Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton said. "The kid can just flat out swing the bat."

Jones was a kid when Pendleton first saw him break into the Majors during September of 1993. At the time, the Braves former first round pick was just 21 years old. But already, Pendleton could see he had what it took to be great.

"He's always kind of walked with that silent, cocky confidence," Pendleton said. "As he came into the league, you could see he was going to be something special. There's just a few others that possess that same thing. Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez are two that come to mind."

On his road to his 30th birthday, Jones has been a vital part of the Braves success. He was a member of a World Championship team in 1995 and has played in three Fall Classics. Individually, he has been an All-Star five times and won the NL MVP award in 1999.

"He's a game player," John Foster said. "When the game is on the line you want him on your team. He's definitely not someone you want on the other side."

Foster, a 23-year-old reliever who was called up from Triple-A Richmond earlier in the day, benefited directly from Jones' efforts. The eighth inning rally that Jones helped orchestrate made a winner out of the Braves left-hander, who was making his Major League debut.

Tim Spooneybarger, a 22-year-old right-handed reliever who roomed with Foster for three years in the minors, said it was almost a perfect night.

"Chipper's the big name in the organization," Spooneybarger said. "For me to be able to pitch in Foster's first win and have Chipper be a part of it, makes us feel like we're really part of the organization."

Jones has become one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the game and at the same time has established himself as one of the most recognizable figures in Braves history.

"I don't look at it that way," Jones said. "I prefer to just come to work, set a good example and hope everyone else will follow. I really don't get caught up in what the people in the organization think about me. I try to be a leader and pick my teammates up when needed."

When Jones came into the big leagues, he said he had the utmost respect for Pendleton, who had won the 1991 NL MVP just two years before Jones made his debut. Now, young players like Spooneybarger and Foster are joining the team and possessing the same type of respect for Jones.

But when asked about it, Jones casually deflects the compliments.

"We're all here in the same clubhouse," Jones said. "I'm going to treat the young guys the same as I treat everyone else. I mean I'm going to rag them some. But really, they're an equal."

Maybe they do wear the same uniform. But for now Chipper outranks them in stature and age.

Mark Bowman covers the Braves for MLB.com and can be reached at bowman.mark@worldnet.att.net. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.