CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta wasn't concerned about wins or stats on Thursday. He was out to stop a streak.

The Cubs right-hander tossed six shutout innings and helped Chicago snap a three-game losing skid with a 7-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

"I don't really put much into (numbers) at all," said Arrieta, who improved to 15-6 on the season. "The only thing that matters is getting back on track as a team. We had a couple of tough games against Detroit. My job and my mindset was to come out and put a stop to that."

Arrieta won his fourth consecutive start and had his third scoreless outing in his past four starts. He allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked one while throwing 107 pitches, 75 for strikes.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Arrieta could have gone longer, but under the circumstances, it was wiser to make it an earlier night.

"Jake was really good, just got his pitch numbers a little high," Maddon said. "Of course he's in great shape and of course he can (continue). But our expectations are to play longer this year, and he's not done that. I want him to be well for that moment regardless of how they feel right now."

Cubs second baseman Chris Coghlan went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs. His third-inning single scored shortstop Addison Russell with the first run, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo added a three-run homer for the Cubs (68-51) later in the inning.

Right-hander Mike Foltynewicz (4-5) gave up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings as Atlanta dropped its fourth straight.

"If you don't look at the numbers, I think I threw the ball OK," Foltynewicz said. "I think it was one of the better games I had command of my fastball with. They just hit good pitches."

Cubs left-handed reliever Travis Wood loaded the bases with one out in the eighth. Braves third baseman Adonis Garcia greeted right-handed reliever Justin Grimm with a sacrifice fly to right that scored right fielder Nick Markakis to end the shutout.

Grimm then got second baseman Jace Peterson to fly to left to end the threat.

Four straight hits off Foltynewicz in the third inning produced a 4-0 Cubs lead.

Coghlan's one-out base hit drove home Russell for a 1-0 lead. Rizzo followed with his 24th home run of the season on a first pitch to right, scoring center fielder Dexter Fowler and Coghlan. It was Rizzo's first homer in nearly a week.

The Braves (53-68) saw manager Fredi Gonzalez get sent to the showers in the third.

"I got ejected for balls and strikes, that's it," Gonzalez said. "I see Folty out there getting after it, and he got a little frustrated. I just said a few things in the dugout. It wasn't anything crazy like that. But you can't argue balls and strikes, so I got to watch the rest of the game on TV."

Russell extended the lead to 5-0 in the fourth, launching a 1-0 pitch to the left field bleachers for his eighth homer of the year.

The Braves threatened as Peterson singled to open the fifth, stole second and landed at third with one out after an Arrieta wild pitch. Left fielder Michael Bourn then walked and stole second, but Arrieta struck out Foltynewicz, and Markakis grounded to short to end the inning.

Left fielder Kyle Schwarber drew a walk to open the bottom of the fifth, and Coghlan brought him home with a triple into the right field corner for a 6-0 Cubs lead. Coghlan then scored on catcher Miguel Montero's double off the center field wall to make it 7-0.

That was it for Foltynewicz, replaced by left-hander Andrew McKirahan. Foltynewicz permitted eight hits and two walks while striking out six.

NOTES: Braves OF Cameron Maybin's batting average with runners in scoring position (.376) is sixth in the majors. ... The Braves have used a franchise-record 56 players this year, topping the previous mark of 50 set in 2007. ... Atlanta RHP Shelby Miller (5-9, 2.43 ERA) goes against Chicago RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-5, 3.97) on Friday in the second game of the series. ... During a 15-8 loss to Detroit on Wednesday, the Cubs got home runs from the top three spots in the batting order (CF Dexter Fowler, LF Kyle Schwarber and 3B Kris Bryant) for the first time in 11 seasons. ... The Cubs are 49-10 this season when scoring first but 15-38 when being outhit by an opponent. ... With 10 homers, Schwarber already is tied for seventh among National League rookies despite having played in just 37 games.