Pirates offense manages a season-low 2 hits in loss to A's to drop 2 games below .500

When the Pittsburgh Pirates got a leadoff single by Ke’Bryan Hayes then loaded the bases in the first inning, it looked like a promising start.

They wouldn’t get another hit until the ninth inning.

The Pirates took their offensive ineptitude to another level, held to a season-low two hits in a 5-1 loss to the A’s Monday night at Oakland Coliseum.

The Pirates (14-16) dropped to two games below .500 for the first time this season, just ahead of the NL Central last-place St. Louis Cardinals (13-15), whose game at Detroit was postponed Monday. The Pirates have now lost 11 of their past 14 games and scored two runs or fewer in 10 of those games, including a 2-1 win over Milwaukee on April 23.

They loaded the bases in the first inning but managed only one run against A’s starter Joe Boyle (2-4). After Hayes hit a leadoff single and Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen drew walks, Hayes scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead. But Jack Suwinski struck out and Jared Triolo flied out to right, leaving two runners stranded.

The A’s quickly tied it when Tyler Nevin sent Falter’s 0-1 inside fastball 404 feet to center in the bottom of the first.

Boyle didn’t allow another hit over the next four innings, retiring nine consecutive batters at one point. Oakland countered with four doubles among their six hits against lefty Bailey Falter (2-2), taking control in the fourth on a pair of sacrifice flies.

Brent Rooker hit a leadoff single to right and Abraham Toro followed with a double to right-center to put runners on second and third. Shea Langeliers hit a fly ball to Michael A. Taylor in deep center, but Taylor overthrew shortstop Oneil Cruz on the relay, allowing Toro to advance to third and score on Max Schuemann’s fly ball to right for a 3-1 lead.

The A’s continued to hit Falter hard in the fifth, as Darell Hernaiz led off with a single to left, advanced to second on Nick Allen’s sacrifice bunt and scored on a double off the base of the left field wall by Esteury Ruiz. After Ruiz stole third, he scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Nevin for a 5-1 lead.

“Too many fastballs in the heart of the zone,” Falter said on SportsNet Pittsburgh’s postgame show. “I wasn’t really mixing down and up as well as I have recently. I feel like I was in the heart of the plate tonight, and I got hurt.”

The Pirates finally got a second hit when Cruz singled off Michael Kelly with one out in the ninth, only for Andrew McCutchen to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.

“I got nothing but trust in these guys. We’re not really clicking on all cylinders right now, but it’s still early in the year. We’re going to get it figured out and we’re going to be great,” Falter said. “You can’t blame the offense too much when I’m giving up five runs in five innings. I’ve just got to be a little bit better and kick-start something next time.”