DAVID J. GRIFFIN / GETTY

Henry Davis can't catch a run-scoring wild pitch that sails by the Braves' Eli White in the 11th inning.

It didn't necessarily matter who was managing the Pirates tonight at PNC Park through their 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Braves because, after 40 games and a 13-27 start, it was obvious that mistakes continued to be made.

Take this list:

• Henry Davis, who represented the winning run at third base in the 10th inning and was told to go on contact, was thrown out at home -- without a slide -- after trying to score on a Matt Gorski ground ball to third base: 

• Bryan Reynolds dropped a ball at the wall in right-center field in the first inning and then allowed another ball to sail over his head in the second that led to an RBI double: 

• The eighth inning was extended when Joey Bart's throw to first base, following a blocked third strike of all things, bounced away from Gorski, allowing Ozzie Albies to reach.

• Then, there was this pitch that eventually decided the game in the 11th:

Chase Shugart's first-pitch sinker sailed over Eli White's head allowing Matt Olson, who had started the inning on second base, to score the eventual game-winning run from third.

This was the 11th loss in the past 13 games. Much of that was on the offense, which had nine hits -- Bart had four -- plus six walks but stranded 14 runners and went 2 for 18 when they were in scoring position.

"Maybe a little bit," Matt Gorski said when I asked if the team feels like they let one get away tonight. "Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't."

One key situation came in the second inning after Bart and Ke'Bryan Hayes had back-to-back singles. Atlanta starter AJ Smith-Shawver went on to strike out the next three batters.

Jared Triolo also stranded the bases loaded in the eighth when he popped out after Gorski had tied the game, 2-2, with an infield single. 

Tonight was the 16th straight game that the Pirates scored four or fewer runs and the 15th straight game they had nine or fewer hits. In those 16 games, the Pirates have scored 2.25 runs per game. 

"We're talking about hitting and everybody wants to be the guy to come through," Don Kelly said. "We have to stay within ourselves and find a way to put a good swing on it. Gorski came up in that situation, putting the ball in play, finding a way to get it done. We need to continue to stay within ourselves and put good swings on good pitches." 

So far, the Pirates haven't done that consistently enough. They currently rank last in all of Major League Baseball in runs scored (123), 26th in hits (288), 27th in home runs (28), last in doubles (46) and 26th in strikeouts (343).

And their failures at the plate have wasted some good-enough pitching: Andrew Heaney wasn't at his best after giving up two runs in the first three innings, but he recovered to scatter four hits over six innings of work while walking three and striking out two. 

Heaney, Paul Skenes, Bailey Falter and Mitch Keller have combined for 18 quality starts in their 32 games, which ranks second in all of Major League Baseball even without any quality starts from Carmen Mlodzinski and Thomas Harrington. The Pirates are 10-8 in those 18 games.

"Yeah, a win's a win, a loss is a loss," Heaney said. "Nobody is going to be happy about it, obviously. We had our chances. Could have made better pitches. Could've, would've, should've. It didn't work out."

Following the loss, Kelly tried to provide explanations for some of the mistakes. 

• He said Davis was told to run on contact as they were "just trying to put the pressure on them to make a play in that situation." 

• Kelly also said both of Reynolds' defensive mistakes were "really tough. The one up against the wall, and then Harris hit the crap out of that other one." 

However, as the season carries on, mistakes continue, with seemingly no remedy in place.