CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs threw no punches. Manager Lou Piniella might have kicked an umpire, though.

And it was more of the same for the Cubs. This time, they fell 5-3 to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and lost their sixth straight.

One day after Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett fought, Piniella got ejected after Angel Pagan got caught stealing third base in the eighth inning. The manager kicked dirt and tossed his cap several times.

Question is: Did he kick third-base umpire Mark Wegner, too?

Crew chief Bruce Froemming said yes. Piniella said no.

“He made physical contact with the third-base umpire,” Froemming told a pool reporter. “He made physical contact with his foot, and he kicked dirt on (Wegner) several times, and the rest was show-and-tell.”

Piniella countered: “Froemming is the one that put his hands on me.”

Froemming said he was simply trying to calm Piniella, who “just wouldn’t stop.” And Froemming planned to call Major League Baseball’s headquarters “immediately.”

That issue aside, Piniella did say this about the call against Pagan: “He looked safe from the dugout, but after I saw the play, the umpire had it right.”

Pirates 3, Dodgers 1

PITTSBURGH – Ian Snell shook off a run of subpar starts to limit the Dodgers to one run over eight innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates overcame another bad night of baserunning to beat Los Angeles 3-1 on Saturday night.

Three Pirates runners were thrown out at home plate – two in a span of two batters – and Pittsburgh couldn’t score a runner from second base on a double for the second game in a row.

Mets 7, D-backs 1

NEW YORK – Carlos Delgado touched off a New York rally with his 415th home run and fifth in the past seven games as the makeshift Mets defeated Arizona 7-1 Saturday, ending the Diamondbacks’ eight-game winning streak.

Ruben Gotay, one of the backups replacing Mets regulars, had three hits including a three-run homer that broke the game open in the seventh.

Phillies 5, Giants 2

PHILADELPHIA – Another solid outing from Cole Hamels and timely situational hitting helped the Philadelphia Phillies end their losing skid.

Backed by three sacrifice flies, Hamels pitched his second complete game to lead the Phillies over the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Saturday night.

Hamels (8-2) allowed two runs and five hits to become the NL’s first eight-game winner.

Marlins 5, Brewers 2

MILWAUKEE – Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and Florida beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Saturday night. Miguel Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in the sixth for the Marlins, who lost the first two games of this series.

Padres 11, Nationals 3

WASHINGTON – Justin Germano won his fourth consecutive start, Rob Bowen drove in a career-high four runs and the San Diego Padres rode a six-run first inning to an 11-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Germano (4-0) is unbeaten in five starts since being called up from Triple-A Portland to replace the injured Clay Hensley in the Padres’ rotation.

Rockies 4, Reds 1

DENVER – Jeff Francis allowed five hits over seven innings and Todd Helton hit a two-run homer to help the Colorado Rockies end a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.

Francis (5-4) struck out six and walked one in winning his third straight start. In his past six starts, he is 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA and has allowed eight earned runs in 44 innings.