PHOENIX -- Pittsburgh's starting pitchers do not have the hardware or the "wow" factor of, say, those of the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Francisco Giants, but the Pirates have the numbers.
Gerrit Cole, A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano rank in the top 17 in the NL in ERA four turns through the rotation this year, and the Diamondbacks saw them at the best in being swept in a weekend series at Chase Field.
Liriano put on the finishing touches with 6 1-3 scoreless innings in an 8-0 victory on Sunday, when the Pirates scored four runs in the first five innings off Jeremy Hellickson to stop the D-backs' streak of nine straight quality starts.
The D-backs, who have lost three in a row for the first time this season, did not want to give too much credit to the Pirates. At the same time, they understood what problems the Pirates' staff creates.
"It was a bit of a rough go, but that's going to happen," said right fielder Mark Trumbo, whose double in the fourth inning of a 4-1 loss to Cole on Friday was the D-backs' only extra-base hit in the series. "Look at the arms we faced. We went up against arguably three No. 1s who are all going pretty well right now. You knew it was going to be a dogfight going in. You kind of hoped they make a few more mistakes, but as it turned out all three of them threw the ball pretty good."
The D-backs had two runs and18 hits in the series, and were 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position. One of those hits did not get out of the infield, though it did drive in a run.
It was reminiscent of a series against Oakland in July 2001, when Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito held the D-backs to two runs and 16 hits in a 3-0, 5-1 and 2-1 sweep.
It was disappointing for manager Chip Hale, who said the proper game plan was in place.
"They pitched exactly like we thought they would," Hale said, "and we just couldn't make the adjustments to handle their stuff. We had a good game plan (against Liriano), we just couldn't execute it. We knew we had to (make them) get the ball up, and we kept swinging at balls in the dirt. Execution. You can have the best game plan in the world, but if you cannot execute it you are not going to do very well."
The D-backs had three singles Sunday. But Liriano walked six to give them chances, especially early.
Ender Inciarte singled down the left field line to open the first inning but was thrown out attempting to stretch it to a double. Liriano walked Paul Goldschmidt and Trumbo with two outs, but Yasmany Tomas struck out on a changeup in the dirt.
The D-backs lost another chance in the second when Jordan Pacheco singled and Nick Ahmed walked with one out. When Hellickson missed a bunt attempt, Pacheco was picked off second base. Hellickson then struck out.
Still 4-0 in the seventh inning, Liriano was removed after walking two with one out and reliever Jared Hughes got Aaron Hill to hit into a double play.
Liriano, who threw a no-hitter in 2011 while with Minnesota, struck out four D-backs on off-speed pitches.
"He's nasty, man. He uses his off-speed so effective that it makes for some really tough at-bats," Trumbo said. "He's got a wicked slider, maybe the best left-handed slider in the game in my opinion. His changeup that he uses pretty much at will. You just kind of hope that you come up with a game plan that is your best chance to hit something hard on him and eventually you can get to him. You have to sift through some other stuff first, though."
The Pirates appeared to pitch Goldschmidt with extra care, walking him twice Sunday and three times in the series.
"I haven't noticed anything different. I got some pitches to hit and wasn't able to capitalize on it," he said.
He expects no residual effect in a three-game series against Colorado that begins Monday.
"It's not the first time we've lost," he said. "It's not the first time we've been swept. Guys are going to show up tomorrow, and it's not going to make any difference."
The D-backs believed they could run on Pittsburgh, and they stole four bases in five attempts in the series. A.J. Pollock stole his fourth of the season in the eighth inning. Pollock and Chris Owings are tied for the team lead, and with 16 the D-backs are third in the NL.
16 -- walks this season of Paul Goldschmidt, who was walked twice Sunday. He is four short of Jay Bell's franchise record for April, set in 2000
* Addison Reed has thrown 129 pitches in six appearances, and he used 32 in the ninth inning of 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday while giving up three hits and a run after getting the first two batters out. "The concern is the number of pitches he is throwing per inning," said Hale, who had a short talk with Reed on Sunday. "I said next time, let's shoot for 18. Just try to get it down there where he is a little more conscious of when he gets ahead, let's go after them and get them out. When there are two outs and nobody on, that's a tough thing to stomach some time." Hale gave no indication that he was considering a role change for Reed, who has converted 1-of-2 save chances and has a 3.60 ERA. "He's throwing the ball well, but you have to get results," Hale said. "That's the big key here. He knows that. It's the first month of the season. He did have a little later start than the other guys, too. So just got to give him a little bit of room here to get it right."
* Setup man Brad Ziegler has permitted two of the 24 batters he has faced this season to reach base, on a single and an intentional walk. He has retired 19 in a row not counting the walk, which was ordered with a runner on second and two outs Friday in order to get to the pitcher's spot in the order. His ERA is 0.00. All that after being delayed in spring training because of September knee surgery. "He's been very impressive," Hale said. "It almost proves the point that the more veteran players, you can almost back them up in spring training and start it later for them. Sometimes maybe they throw too much during spring." Ziegler made 77, 78 and 68 appearances from 2012-2014 with Arizona.
RHP Chase Anderson, who will start the opener of a three-game home series against Colorado on Monday, has thrown at least five innings in his first 14 home starts, a team record.
Nos. 1-2 hitters Inciarte and Pollock were 7-for-23 with a walk in the Pittsburgh series, and they had consecutive hit in the same inning twice. Neither scored a run.
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