Atlanta ? Wes Helms knows he has to make every swing count.

Helms hit his first career grand slam, and Chipper Jones added a three-run homer as the Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-5 Friday night in a matchup of division leaders.

Helms, who started at third base in place of slumping Vinny Castilla, gave the Braves a 5-0 lead in the first inning with a 395-foot shot over the left-field fence off Jason Simontacchi.

“It’s was good to take advantage getting a chance to start. I’m not trying to prove I’m better than Vinny. I just want the players on the team to know they can depend on me to do the job,” Helms said. “It feels good to contribute. It’s just good to get some at-bats on a regular basis instead of once a week.”

Tom Glavine (14-6) gave up one run and six hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out three, going back out to the mound following a rain delay of 55 minutes in the third inning.

Simontacchi (7-3) gave up five runs in the first inning and four more in the second three on Jones’ 13th homer. The right-hander left trailing 9-1 and was replaced by reliever Mike Matthews.

Simontacchi, whose ERA rose from 3.33 to 4.25, allowed seven hits and three walks in one-plus inning. He faced five batters in the second without getting an out.

“It was the exact opposite of what I’ve been doing recently. You just can’t get behind in the count and expect to win at this level,” Simontacchi said.

The NL East-leading Braves have the best record in the majors at 71-38. They’ve won three in a row, 13 of 16 and are 52-17 (.754) since May 15.

The Cardinals, first in the Central, have dropped three in a row their longest losing streak since June 20-25, when they dropped four straight.

“When you’re not throwing strikes, you don’t have any chance of doing what you want to out there,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.

With one out in the first, Atlanta’s Julio Franco drew a walk, Gary Sheffield grounded out and Jones walked. Andruw Jones singled in Franco before Keith Lockhart walked, loading the bases.

Helms, in his second full season with the Braves, followed with his sixth homer of the season.

“He got the chance and made the most of it,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “That was the big hit of the night.”

Rafael Furcal led off the Atlanta second with a single, took second on a walk to Franco and scored on Sheffield’s single. Chipper Jones followed with his three-run shot for a 9-1 lead. Andruw Jones then singled, chasing Simontacchi.

Cubs 6, Rockies 4

Chicago Moises Alou hit a game-winning, two-run homer in the 12th inning and Kerry Wood struck out 13 batters.

Wood went seven innings but was denied the victory when Jack Cust hit first career homer to tie it in the ninth against Antonio Alfonseca.

Sammy Sosa drew a leadoff walk in the 12th, and Alou hit the next pitch from Victor Santos (0-1) over the wall in left field to win it. Sosa hit his NL-leading 33rd homer.

Pirates 6, Giants 5

Pittsburgh Brian Giles’s two-run double won it in the ninth after San Francisco closer Robb Nen was within one strike of his 300th save three times.

Barry Bonds, four homers shy of becoming just the fourth to hit 600 homers, returned to the lineup after a night off to rest his sore hamstring to go 0-for-3 with two walks.

Giants starter Livan Hernandez gave up four runs and seven hits, four for extra bases, in seven innings and left with a 5-4 lead.

Mets, D-backs ppd

New York Friday night’s game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets was rained out and will be made up as a doubleheader today.

Expos 3, Astros 1

Montreal Britt Reames and two Montreal relievers combined on a four-hitter and Brad Wilkerson hit an RBI triple and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. Reames (1-2) struck out seven and walked two.

Phillies 3, Dodgers 1

Philadelphia Pat Burrell doubled home the tying run with two outs in the eighth inning and Philadelphia scored twice more on Tyler Houston’s throwing error. Carlos Silva (3-0) earned the victory by getting two outs in the eighth, and Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his 31st save in 38 chances.

Padres 5, Reds 2

San Diego Brian Lawrence tied his career high with 10 strikeouts and didn’t allow an earned run in eight innings as San Diego beat Cincinnati.

Phil Nevin went 3-for-4 with a run-scoring single and Deivi Cruz had two hits and an RBI for the Padres.

Lawrence (10-6) allowed two unearned runs.

Brewers 1, Marlins 0

Miami Jamey Wright pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, and Ronnie Belliard hit an RBI single as the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a three-game losing streak.