PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- John Rocker said he felt comfortable, and it certainly looked like it.

The controversial reliever got his first save in a month, striking out three of four batters he faced Sunday in the Atlanta Braves' 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I felt real good out there," said Rocker, who threw 14 of 21 pitches for strikes. "My mechanics were stronger, and that was the problem all along. My body was getting ahead of my arm and I wasn't getting enough hip turn. I talked about it with Terry (Mulholland) and he was telling me how the hip turn can throw your mechanics way off."

	John Rocker is congratulated by teammate Fernando Lunar, left, after notching his first save for the Braves since May 18.

Rocker, sent to Triple-A Richmond from June 5-14 following an outburst against a reporter and repeated wildness, then fanned pinch-hitter Ron Gant and Doug Glanville, both on 1-2 pitches. Scott Rolen ended the game by lining to left field on a 3-2 pitch.

Overall, it was Rocker's 11th save in 12 chances, his first since May 18 against San Francisco. In his first appearance following his recall, he threw six straight balls Wednesday in the Braves' 8-4 victory at Pittsburgh.

This time, Rocker misfired on just two pitches, according to pitching coach Leo Mazzone.

"Except for one fastball (to Gant) and one breaking ball (to Rolen), his arm angle was in the perfect slot," Mazzone said. "The reason why he went down was to get his mechanics straight. His arm was dropping down to a three-quarter slide, especially on his breaking pitches."

The appearance was also a comforting sight to Braves manager Bobby Cox.

"He looked better," Cox said. "His mechanics were better and it looked like he threw with more confidence."

Rocker talked with reporters briefly after the game and even showed off a cut on his left thumb, which he pointed to as another potential reason for his recent wildness.

"The glue they used to close it worked," he said. "It didn't tear off, and the cut never bled. It was OK."

Atlanta, which stopped a three-game losing streak, broke a 1-all tie in the seventh on RBI singles by Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones off Mark Holzemer, who relieved Steve Schrenk (2-2) following a leadoff single by pinch-hitter Brian Jordan.

The Braves made it 5-1 in the eighth on Keith Lockhart's RBI double and Andruw Jones' run-scoring single off Wayne Gomes.

John Burkett (5-3) won for the first time since May 27, retiring 15 of his final 17 batters following Pat Burrell's RBI double in the first.

Burrell hit another RBI double in the eighth off Remlinger and scored on Kevin Jordan's single.

Philadelphia starter Robert Person struggled with his control and got his fourth straight no-decision. Person tied a season-high with five walks and struck out five in five innings while surrendering one run and two hits.

Phillies manager Terry Franconca was weary of his right-hander, who left after throwing just 86 pitches.

"I don't know if concerned is the word, but his velocity was down," Francona said. "It's just that there weren't as many fastballs coming out at 93 or 94 (mph) as usual."

Atlanta tied the game in the fourth when Bobby Bonilla grounded into a double play with the bases loaded.

Game notes
If not for fan interference on Burrell's first double, Mike Lieberthal also would have scored. ... Andres Galarraga celebrated his 39th birthday but wasn't in the starting lineup. ... Chipper Jones started his second game of the season at shortstop and batted in Galarraga's usual cleanup spot. It was the first time this season Jones hit fourth. Jones' RBI single in the seventh, extended his hitting streak to 16 games, a club best since Michael Tucker's 16-game hitting streak in June 1997. ... Burkett is 5-2 at Veterans Stadium, including 2-0 this season. ... Atlanta was 4-for-4 in steal attempts. Lieberthal had thrown out seven of his last 10 basestealers coming in. ... Gomes was ejected by plate umpire Mike Reilly in the eighth.