Chicago ? With a strong wind turning lazy popups into long homers, Greg Maddux knew it could be a long day for pitchers.

It was, just not for Maddux.

Maddux pitched a solid six innings and the Braves hit three home runs to win their seven straight in a 13-3 victory over Chicago on breezy Thursday afternoon.

“The wind’s blowing out, you know that you’re going to give up a couple,” Maddux said. “You just try to stay out of the big inning and hope your team has one before they do.”

Atlanta had several to back Maddux (7-8).

With the game tied at 3, Cubs starter Shawn Estes (6-8) walked Gary Sheffield and Chipper Jones to lead off the sixth. After Andruw Jones struck out, Julio Franco and Castilla hit RBI singles. Franco then scored on Henry Blanco’s sacrifice fly to give Atlanta a 6-3 lead.

The Braves then broke open the game with three runs in the sixth and five more in the eighth.

Vinny Castilla homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs — falling a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Franco was 3-for-5 with an RBI and scored three runs.

“They beat us up pretty good,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. “They scored the three runs, after that everything they hit was hard and found a hole.”

Atlanta added five more in the eighth on sacrifice flies by Castilla and Jones, and RBI singles by Marcus Giles and Sheffield.

“We got a little bit of everything today,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “You knew it was going to be a day when someone scored a lot of runs because the wind was blowing out.”

Rafael Furcal led off the game with a home run and Blanco hit a two-run shot in the ninth.

It was the first victory for Maddux in four appearances, and his second straight strong start after two disastrous outings in which he allowed 11 runs in 13 innings. Maddux allowed three runs in six innings, striking out seven on just 87 pitches.

“He’s been pitching pretty well the last couple games,” Blanco said. “Hopefully he figured out what he was doing wrong. I think you’ll see a different Maddux now.”

Pirates 5, Brewers 4

Milwaukee — Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run homer that gave Pittsburgh a victory over Milwaukee. Pirates first baseman Randall Simon did not play. Hours earlier, he was cited for disorderly conduct and fined $432 for hitting one of the Brewers’ popular racing sausages Wednesday night at Miller Park. Jeff Suppan (8-7) pitched a complete game.

Rockies 11, Giants 3

Denver — Preston Wilson had two homers and a career-high six RBIs, and Darren Oliver hit his first major league homer and won his fourth straight decision as Colorado beat San Francisco. Barry Bonds homered for the second straight night to give him 641 in his career, 19 shy of Willie Mays for third on the all-time list.

Astros 11, Reds 2

Houston — Richard Hidalgo hit a three-run double and Houston jumped out to the biggest first inning in franchise history, scoring nine runs in a victory over Cincinnati. Houston sent the Reds to their eighth straight loss and outscored them 36-8 during a four-game sweep. Geoff Blum had two hits in the first inning, including a two-run single.

Dodgers 9, Cardinals 4

St. Louis — Shawn Green had four hits and scored four as Los Angeles Dodgers got production from an underachieving offense for a third straight game, beating Matt Morris and St. Louis. Jolbert Cabrera and Adrian Beltre each drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who swept the two-game series. Los Angeles won consecutive games for the first time since June 20-21, going 4-13 since then.

Phillies 7, Mets 2

New York — Jim Thome and Mike Lieberthal capped a four-run first inning with back-to-back homers, and Vicente Padilla pitched into the ninth inning as Philadelphia beat New York. The Phillies wasted no time getting on the board after being no-hit for six innings by Montreal’s Tomo Ohka Wednesday. Marlon Byrd led off with a sharp single off Steve Trachsel, and Philadelphia was up 4-0 before they made an out. It was 7-1 after two.

Padres 14, D’backs 2

Phoenix — Sean Burroughs hit a three-run homer, doubled twice and scored three runs as San Diego routed Arizona, ending the Diamondbacks’ 11-game home winning streak.