PITTSBURGH --- The Atlanta Braves lost a game they badly needed to win. Even worse, they lost to a Pittsburgh team whose only apparent goal appears to be avoiding the franchise's worst season in nearly 50 years.
Neil Walker hit a two-run homer, Brian Burres limited Atlanta to one run over six innings in his first start in more than three months and the Pirates beat the Braves 3-1 on Monday.
The Braves' lead is now only a half-game over the Phillies, who split a doubleheader with the Marlins. The Braves have led the division every day since May 31 but have lost six games off that edge since July 22.
Atlanta had won five of its previous six against Pittsburgh.
Tommy Hanson (9-11) held the Pirates to an unearned run over five innings before Jose Tabata singled to start the sixth, and Walker followed with his 10th homer, which extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
"It's probably the best I've felt warming up," said Hanson, who allowed four hits over six innings. "It was just that one inning. Other than the fastball (to Walker), I don't think it could have gotten much better. Just that one pitch, and it was definitely a big pitch."
After Burres left, the Braves had their chances against relievers Chris Resop and Evan Meek but couldn't score while stranding 11 runners overall.
"We had hits and we had runners, we just couldn't get the big hit to get back into the game," manager Bobby Cox said. "We thought we were going to get it just about every inning, but it never happened."
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