PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- If Kris Benson was making his final appearance in a Pittsburgh Pirates ' uniform, he was not particularly efficient.

Subject of several trade rumors and almost sure to be moved before Saturday's deadline, Benson gave up four runs in six innings as the Atlanta Braves posted a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates .

Benson (8-8), who allowed four runs and seven hits, is considered the second best pitcher potentially available behind only Arizona ace Randy Johnson . And with free agency looming for the 29-year-old righthander, the Pirates have made no secret of his availability.

Benson and Atlanta starter Jaret Wright may have been bothered by a 41-minute rain delay in the first inning.

"I'm disappointed I didn't get the win," Benson said. "I can't be disappointed with the last two months of the season. One game can't dictate how things have ended up here. I just got beat tonight. I haven't really seen the trade rumors as a burden at all. I've accepted the fact that this is the position I'm in."

"Benson didn't have his best stuff," Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He threw OK and got us through six innings. The rain certainly hurt him. He threw 100 pitches in six innings. He was pretty wiped out."

Atlanta starter Jaret Wright (8-5) kept his personal winning streak going, notching his sixth straight victory. Wright yielded two runs and five hits in five innings, struck out six and walked one.

"I thought Wright was good after the delay," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. "It was tough on him. He's still recovering from a couple of arm operations."

"I knew the delay was going to have an effect," said Wright, who has not lost a game since May 22. "It bothered me some. I'm a routine guy. The last time I had a delay I threw terrible . It was definitely a battle tonight after the rain delay. I just tried to get through it."

With the game tied, 2-2, in the fifth inning, Chipper Jones put Atlanta ahead with a sacrifice fly. Catcher Johnny Estrada followed with an RBI double scoring J.D. Drew, who extended his hitting streak to a career-high 22 games with a single earlier in the inning.

"J.D. is having a fantastic year," Cox said. "He's hugely important to our team. I even that he was going to catch that one ball tonight because he's caught every one."

Antonio Alfonseca , Kevin Gryboski , Chris Reitsma and John Smoltz combined to blan the Pirates over the last four innings, allowing just one hit.

Smoltz pitched the ninth and notched his 21st save.

Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead in the first on a two-out RBI base hit by Craig Wilson . Andruw Jones tied the game next inning with a two-base hit that plated Estrada.

Pirate shortstop Jack Wilson hit his ninth homer of the season in the third, but rookie Adam LaRoche plated Chipper Jones with a double in the fourth.