New York ? Don’t panic over the state of the Atlanta Braves. They’re not.

The Braves lost their fourth straight game Saturday, beaten 6-5 by the New York Mets and dropped to 12-18, nine games behind the Mets. Atlanta, winner of 14 straight division titles, hasn’t been this far out of first place since Aug. 11, 1993.

The Braves seem a tad concerned but not exactly terrified. Maybe that’s because they ended the season in first the last time they were this far back.

“Nobody in here is going to panic,” Chipper Jones said. “We’re going to show up for work tomorrow, play hard and see how we stand after 27 outs. There’s a lot of baseball left to play.”

John Smoltz, who will start today, said it was not as if his team wasn’t trying.

“It’s not a matter of effort,” he said. “It’s a matter of finding a way to win some of these games. Everybody realizes the importance of getting ourselves going. It’s just not working right now. We need to start winning.”

Saturday’s loss was similar to Friday night’s 14-inning setback with the Mets coming from behind late to overtake Atlanta.

“Both games, we had the lead in the seventh inning and managed not to win the game,” manager Bobby Cox said. “We didn’t make a couple of pitches. We didn’t make a couple of plays. We’ve had a lot of leads and managed to lose ballgames.”

The difference Saturday was a four-run Mets rally in the seventh.

Diamondbacks 3, Reds 1

Phoenix – Claudio Vargas threw six solid innings for his second straight home victory, and Arizona won its seventh straight.

Pirates 5, Nationals 4, 11 innings

Washington – Jason Bay’s homer with two outs in the 11th inning lifted Pittsburgh, ending a three-game losing streak. Bay drove a high 2-1 pitch from Felix Rodriguez (0-1) to left field, snapping a tie that had lasted since the fourth inning.

Rockies 5, Astros 0

Denver – Jason Jennings pitched a seven-hitter for his second career shutout. Jennings (2-2) struck out a season-high nine, walked one and retired 12 in a row during one stretch. He was 0-2 in his previous four starts and last won April 9 at San Diego.

Phillies 4, Giants 1

Philadelphia – Chase Utley homered again and drove in two runs, lifting the Phillies to their seventh straight victory.

Cardinals 7, Marlins 6

Miami – Mark Mulder pitched six innings for his 100th career victory.

Padres 2, Cubs 1, 10 innings

San Diego – Rob Bowen homered leading off the bottom of the 10th, extending San Diego’s winning streak to seven.