Atlanta ? It’ll take more than firing manager Don Baylor to get the Chicago Cubs going. Playing without Sammy Sosa didn’t help, either.

The punchless Cubs lost 4-3 to the Atlanta Braves on Friday night, completing a tumultuous day during which they got a new manager and possibly lost Sosa for the rest of the weekend because of a family emergency.

“It’s tough, but you have to do your job,” Cubs starter Matt Clement said. “Don was good to me. He was the first manager who ever gave me a chance to pitch. It’s sad it happened.”

Chicago dismissed Baylor earlier in the day and replaced him with Bruce Kimm, but the move didn’t play immediate dividends. The Cubs stranded two runners in the second, third and sixth innings.

Kimm, who moves up from Triple-A Iowa, won’t be with the team until Saturday. Bench coach Rene Lachemann ran the team in the interim, and the Cubs lost for the ninth time in 11 games to fall a season-worst 16 games below .500 (34-50).

“It’s a rerun of what we’ve been doing all year,” Lachemann said. “I told them before the game to play a good game, to play with intensity. But we need victories, not moral victories.”

Sosa originally was in the lineup, but traveled back to Chicago for the emergency. Team spokesman Chuck Wasserstrom said the slugging right fielder wasn’t expected to return to Atlanta for the final two games of the series.

He missed his first game of the season.

“It didn’t change my game plan, but it took one guy out of the lineup that I would welcome being out of the lineup on any day,” Braves starter Kevin Millwood said with a smile.

Keith Lockhart hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning to back Millwood’s pitching as the Braves won for the 14th time in 16 games.

Millwood (6-5) went six innings and gave up four hits, including Fred McGriff’s towering solo home run in the second. It was McGriff’s 465th career homer, tying him for 23rd on the all-time list with Dave Winfield.

Reds 8, Brewers 6

Cincinnati Adam Dunn hit a solo homer and a two-run double off the top of the 40-foot wall in center field .

The lead changed hands four times in a game full of extra-base hits. There were five homers in all three by the Brewers, two by the Reds.

Dunn had the most impressive shot, a towering double that hit about a foot from the top of the majors’ tallest wall and put the Reds up 7-5 in the fifth. Dunn will be the Reds’ only All-Star representative in Milwaukee next week.

Pirates 4, Astros 3

Pittsburgh Aramis Ramirez, booed loudly after his throwing error led to three Houston runs, hit a go-ahead homer and drove in two runs.

Ramirez drew a bases-loaded walk during the Pirates’ three-run fifth inning, then put them ahead with a one-out solo shot in the seventh off Pedro Borbon (2-2).

Expos 8, Phillies 3

Philadelphia Brad Wilkerson homered, Troy O’Leary drove in two runs and Tomo Ohka struck out a career-high eight.

Wilkerson and O’Leary each scored twice, and Montreal pinch-hitter Wil Cordero connected for his 100th career home run. Ohka (8-4) gave up three runs one earned on three hits in six solid innings.

Mets 5, Marlins 3

Miami Tony Tarasco’s homer and A.J. Burnett’s wildness helped the New York Mets beat the Marlins and gave Michael Bacsik his first major league victory.

Winning for just the third time in nine games, the Mets did it in strange fashion with just seven hits, a season-high 14 strikeouts and a pitcher making his first career start. Armando Benitez pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 22 opportunities.

Dodgers 6, Cardinals 5

St. Louis All-Star closer Eric Gagne escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the ninth inning.

Eric Karros had two RBIs and Dave Roberts drove in the go-ahead run in a three-run sixth inning for the NL West leaders, who overcame a second straight shaky start from Odalis Perez (10-4).

Cardinals ace Matt Morris (10-6) also coughed up a big lead for the second straight start as the Dodgers rallied from three runs down.

Diamondbacks 2, Giants 1

Phoenix Curt Schilling threw a four-hitter and struck out 11 in one of his strongest performances of the year to become the season’s first 14-game winner. After going 0-2 in three starts, Schilling (14-3) earned his second complete-game victory in a row and third of the season. He had his 10th double-digit strikeout effort of the season and walked none, giving up just a ninth-inning home run to Rich Aurilia.

Rockies 9, Padres 6

Denver Mike Hampton pitched six strong innings and Colorado took advantage of sloppy fielding. Colorado won for the third time in 10 games and improved to 6-2 against San Diego this season.