Atlanta ? Vinny Castilla hit a grand slam in the first inning, but it wasn’t enough for the Atlanta Braves. They had to rely on their bullpen to win.

The relievers pitched 513 scoreless innings Monday after Kevin Millwood faltered, ensuring a 5-4 win over the New York Mets that lengthened Atlanta’s lead in the NL East.

Andruw Jones hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth after the Mets rallied to get to 4-all. He got that chance because of the stellar work of a bullpen that leads the majors with a 2.61 ERA.

“It’s a big boost for the team,” said Kevin Gryboski, who made a critical pitch in the seventh to get Mike Piazza to hit into a double play. “Millwood didn’t have his good stuff, but everybody came in and picked him up.”

The Braves extended their division lead to a season-high 212 games, winning for the seventh time in nine games. The second-place Mets lost their third in a row.

Staked to a 4-0 lead by Castilla’s homer, Millwood couldn’t hold it. He hit two batters with the bases loaded in the third, then was knocked out in the fourth by Roberto Alomar’s two-run double.

Fortunately for the Braves, the bullpen was untouchable. Chris Hammond (2-2) pitched 213 scoreless innings for the win, Gryboski made the big pitch to Piazza and John Smoltz got the final four outs for his 15th save.

“The bullpen came on and shut things down completely,” manager Bobby Cox said. “That’s the way it’s been going all year long.”

While Smoltz, a starter-turned-reliever, is a former Cy Young winner, the rest of the bullpen is rather nondescript. Hammond was out of the game for 212 years, while Gryboski was acquired in a minor league deal during the offseason.

Brewers 7, Cubs 6

Milwaukee Paul Bako and Lenny Harris hit back-to-back homers to start a five-run seventh inning as Milwaukee Brewers overcame Sammy Sosa’s 20th home run and rallied past Chicago.

Valerio De Los Santos (1-1) pitched two shutout innings for his first victory since Sept. 27, 2000, and Milwaukee matched its season high with its fourth straight victory.

The Brewers fell behind 5-1 in the fifth after Jamey Wright allowed four home runs, two to Fred McGriff.

Harris’ third career pinch-hit homer made it 5-4. Joe Borowski (2-3) gave up an RBI single to Jeffrey Hammonds and a two-run double to Richie Sexson that gave Milwaukee a 6-5 lead.

Mike DeJean got his 12th save in 13 chances, striking out Sosa to end it.

Diamondbacks 10, Astros 4

Phoenix Curt Schilling, showing no effects from a high fever, allowed three hits in seven innings to become baseball’s first 11-game winner as Arizona hammered Houston.

Schilling (11-1), who had a 104-degree fever Sunday night, gave up one run, struck out eight and walked none. He has not issued a walk in his last five starts, a string of 37 innings and 138 batters, and has 131 strikeouts and eight walks on the season.

Counting the postseason, Schilling improved to 22-1 in starts following an Arizona loss.

Erubiel Durazo ended an 0-for-21 drought with a two-run homer, his sixth since coming of the disabled list May 15. Jose Guillen drove in two with a bases-loaded single and Junior Spivey tripled in two more.

Dodgers 11, Rockies 5

Denver Eric Karros drove in four runs, and Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning for Los Angeles.

Colorado reliever Jose Jimenez (1-3) made a throwing error in the eighth that allowed two runs to score, capping a four-run rally for the Dodgers.

Brian Jordan drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who have won nine of 12. Los Angeles beat the Rockies for the ninth time in 10 games dating to last season. Colorado lost for only the fourth time in 14 games.

Giants 11, Padres 3

San Diego Benito Santiago and Marvin Benard hit three-run homers as San Francisco routed punchless San Diego just its fourth win in 11 games. Santiago’s homer highlighted a six-run third inning. Tsuyoshi Shinjo homered leading off the five-run eighth, and Benard went deep three batters later. Jeff Kent added an RBI double to finish 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Benard, a late fill-in for injured outfielder Reggie Sanders, went 3-for-6 with his first home run of the season and two doubles. The Giants batted around in the third and eighth innings.

Expos 7, Pirates 5

Montreal Troy O’Leary hit a two-run triple, and Montreal took advantage of some sloppy Pittsburgh defense.

The Expos scored three unearned runs in the fifth as the Pirates committed two errors, including first baseman Kevin Young’s throwing error on Jose Vidro’s two-out grounder that allowed Orlando Cabrera to score from third to break a 3-all tie. Kip Wells (8-3) allowed three runs in the third to see his scoreless streak end at 22 1-3 innings. He gave up six runs on three hits and five walks in five innings, ending a personal four-game winning streak.