Pirates' losing streak reaches eight in a row

Derek Shelton was happy with starting pitcher J.T. Brubaker’s five innings, even if they constituted barely more than half the game, even though they couldn’t prevent the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-42) from losing their eighth in a row.

“As long as our starters are efficient, I’m happy with their outings,” the Pirates’ manager said after the 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday night at Nationals Park.

Brubaker was pulled after five innings and 71 pitches, with Josh Bell, the former Pirate who coaxed a walk in his previous at-bat, due to open the sixth.

“It had nothing to do with (Brubaker),” Shelton said. “I thought he did a nice job. Slider was good, struggled with the fastball command at times, but I thought he bounced back. He was efficient. He gave us a good solid start because of the slider.

“We liked the matchups we got with (Chris) Stratton coming into the game (in the sixth). (Brubaker) sat there a while (in the top of the sixth) when (the Nationals) made the pitching change.”

So, with Brubaker maybe off rhythm and Bell, a .214 hitter with power potential, coming to bat, Shelton turned to his bullpen and, sadly for him, his bats to try to break a 2-2 tie.

The only breaking that occurred was Washington leftfielder Kyle Schwarber’s solo home run in the seventh inning off Clay Holmes, who now has been scored upon in three consecutive outings.

“With the exception of that pitch, I thought Clay’s stuff was sharp,” Shelton said. “He was trying to throw on the corner and he left it up middle and Schwarber took a good swing at it.”

Brubaker said he wasn’t tired after five innings, but acknowledged Bell’s presence at the bat rack.

“Just situational move, just based off what the game was saying and where we were at,” he said. “I walked JB prior. I felt confident in attacking him, but based off the previous AB to JB, it was just situational.”

Bell singled harmlessly off Stratton, who retired the next three batters.

The game featured the last-place teams from the National League Central (Pirates) and National League East, and was decided — more than anything — by the lack of offense from the Pirates. Their run total through eight losses in a row stands at 20 (an average of 2.5 per game). Such support leaves pitchers such as Holmes little room for error.

Kevin Newman figured in both runs, hitting his second homer of the season in the second inning and rapping a single in the sixth that moved Jacob Stallings from second to third where he scored on Erik Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly. Stallings’ double, Bryan Reynolds’ wasted double in the third and Newman’s homer were the Pirates’ only extra-base hits among a total of seven (none in the final three innings). The Nationals (28-35) had only six hits.

The only Nationals traffic on the bases occurred in the third when Washington scored twice to erase a 1-0 Pirates lead.

Brubaker surrendered a double, three singles and a walk to Bell, but it could have been worse.

Schwarber did the Pirates a favor by trying to go from first to third on Trea Turner’s single, perhaps tempted by Reynolds’ bobble in center field. Reynolds recovered and nailed Schwarber at third to keep the Nats’ lead at 2-1.

Newman, who bounced into a double play for the first time this season to end the eighth, had two hits in four at-bats to raise his average to .209.

“Putting good swings on the ball is really what I bring to the team right now,” he said. “Just try to keep doing that and, hopefully, they just start to fall my way.”

He said losing night after night is difficult, but the Pirates should be able to handle it.

“You shower off, you flush it and come back and get back to work. That’s all we can do,” he said. “Sleep it off and come back tomorrow.

“That’s part of it. We’re not the first team to (lose eight in a row). As professionals, it’s a little more difficult, but it’s part of what we signed up for.”