Derek Lowe continued his dominance of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chipper Jones and David Ross drove in three runs apiece, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 7-3 victory Friday.

The start of the game was delayed by rain for 81 minutes -- and it was held up for about another hour with one out in the top of the ninth -- but it didn't take the Braves long to crank up their offense when it finally started.

Troy Glaus hit an RBI single and Ross added a three-run double in the first and Jones added an RBI single in the second to stake Lowe to a 5-0 lead.

That was plenty of cushion for Lowe (7-4), who allowed one run on four hits over seven innings to beat the Pirates for the ninth time in as many starts. He matched a season-low with just one walk in the process.

Ross went 3-for-4 and is 6-for-11 with six RBIs in his last three starts. Atlanta's Martin Prado went 3-for-5, bumping his NL-leading hit total to 65.

Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke (3-5) allowed seven runs on a season-high 12 hits over 5 1/3 innings.

The Braves have won three in a row and eight of their last 10. The Pirates have lost three straight and seven of their last nine.