On almost any occasion Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington spoke about the acquisition of Erik Gonzalez during the offseason, he beamed about the “special” defense the young shortstop could provide.

So when Gonzalez’s ninth-inning error led to a blown save that ultimately resulted in a deflating home-opener loss Monday, Gonzalez took it to heart.

“This team brought me here because of my defense,” Gonzalez said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez after a 6-5, 11-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, “and it’s something I take pride in.

“When I (make) an error, that’s something that really actually bothers me.”

Gonzalez booted a Paul Goldschmidt grounder that led off the ninth with closer Felipe Vazquez on the mound and the Pirates holding a 5-4 lead. Eight pitches later, Paul DeJong hit another grounder to Gonzalez, and although he got a force out, his throw to second baseman Adam Frazier wasn’t ideal, so Frazier was forced to hold the ball rather than rush a double-play attempt.

DeJong scored the tying run. And it was a Francisco Cervelli passed ball in the 11th that allowed DeJong to score the winning run.

Add a Colin Moran error during the Cardinals’ three-run seventh inning, and it was three defensive miscues that led to almost all of the St. Louis runs.

“With the free 90s we gave them — too many opportunities late to extend innings and put runners on — that’s what cost us the game,” manager Clint Hurdle said.

When the Pirates were a playoff team from 2013-15, infield defense was a strength. The arrival of Gonzalez in a five-player deal with the Cleveland Indians was supposed to help strengthen the defense.

The early returns haven’t been as kind. But the Pirates aren’t speaking as if they are concerned yet.

“We just have to make the plays,” Moran said.

Said first baseman Josh Bell: “Sometimes the game speeds up on you a little bit. Just rinse it off and bounce back next game.”

“We just spent six weeks working on defense,” Hurdle said, referring to spring training. “It didn’t go out there and play today. So we will continue to work.”

Gonzalez was the player who was most bothered. Excited to be a major league starter for the first time — he spoke of the emotions associated with being announced as a starter as part of the Opening-Day pageantry — Gonzalez felt a sense of letting his team down.

“I could go 0 for 4. I could have a tough day at the plate, but as long as I’m giving the team my defensive effort and doing everything I can defensively where my pitchers can depend on me, then I still feel like I am having a good day,” Gonzalez said. “When I’m making an error, that’s something that’s difficult for me.”

Gonzalez said he has forged a good relationships with fellow infielders Frazier, Moran, Jung Ho Kang and Bell.

“However, even though that chemistry is being built and it’s progressing and it’s coming through, it’s not going to happen (overnight),” Gonzalez said. “And as an infield, we are trying to find that identity, really trying to be a support to one another and making sure our pitchers can always look back and can trust in us.”

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