PITTSBURGH — At the center of Baltimore’s reasoning for why it didn’t land a clear ace over the winter, apart from the toss-up form negotiations can take in free agency, was the presence of two pitchers already in the Orioles’ ranks.

They are Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish, a left- and right-handed duo capable, many within the Orioles organization think, of being a dynamite one-two punch. Rogers has backed those lofty expectations with two standout starts to begin this season. Bradish is still searching for that level.

In the Pirates’ 5-4 win against the Orioles on Friday, Bradish was fine but didn’t come close to exhibiting what made him a Cy Young Award candidate in 2023, his last full season before undergoing elbow surgery. And, with Baltimore’s bats failing to mount enough runs, the club couldn’t climb out of an early hole.

The Orioles (3-4) left eight runners on base and hit 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Even with Gunnar Henderson’s solo homer off left-hander Gregory Soto in the ninth, the former Oriole finished off the save for Pittsburgh (4-3) by striking out Pete Alonso.

“We were in that game,” said infielder Blaze Alexander, who has at least one hit in all five games he has played this season. “One-run ballgame. Gunnar pumped that one, and we had Pete at the plate. That’s really all you can ask.”

The first week of starting pitcher performances has featured two quality starts from Rogers and five shorter outings from the remainder of the rotation that left much to be desired. Bradish has manufactured two of those, and while three of his innings were strong, the second did him in Friday.

The Pirates jumped on Bradish, and the most interesting at-bat came against the 19-year-old making his debut.

Konnor Griffin, the top prospect who received a call-up for Pittsburgh’s home opener, flailed and missed at a pair of Bradish’s outside sliders. He fouled one off to stay alive. In an 0-2 count, Bradish opted against returning to the slider or overpowering Griffin with a high fastball. He threw a curveball on the outside edge of the strike zone, and PNC Park erupted as the ball lined off Griffin’s bat.

It rolled all the way to the left-center field wall, scoring Ryan O’Hearn from first base and leaving Griffin at second with a double.

“A lot of sliders,” Bradish said. “He chased them. He laid off one, so we pivoted to a curveball and I threw a s--ty pitch and he hit it. He’s a good hitter. He’s up here for a reason, so congrats to him, but it was just a bad pitch.”

Another double from Henry Davis and singles from Jared Triolo and Oneil Cruz pushed the Pirates to a four-run lead. They added a fifth run against left-hander Dietrich Enns in the fifth, once Bradish was lifted from the game after throwing 81 pitches in four frames.

Bradish said his execution, rather than his stuff, has been the largest problem from his first two starts. He generated 14 swings and misses Friday, for instance. But he fell behind with first-pitch balls to seven of the 12 batters in the first two innings.

“I think fastball command was a lot better today,” Bradish said. “They were a lot more competitive. Got away from it a little bit in that second inning, but stuff’s not the issue right now. It’s execution.”

When asked how he can improve execution, Bradish said, “just need to be better.”

Through two starts, Rogers carries a 1.38 ERA. The rest of Baltimore’s rotation ERA combines to 6.14. It’s only a five-start sample from the rest of the group, but the rotation is already under duress. Right-hander Zach Eflin, placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow discomfort this week, is traveling to Texas to receive a second opinion on his MRI from Dr. Keith Meister.

Right-hander Dean Kremer, who started in Triple-A on Friday, completed 4 2/3 innings with three runs against him. He would be the most logical pitcher to replace Eflin in the rotation once April 9 arrives — the soonest Kremer and other optioned pitchers can return, unless they are an injury replacement.

“It’s still very early, but, yeah, I love our rotation,” manager Craig Albernaz said when asked how he’d assess that group.

Bradish was more negative about his own start to the season.

“Not really. We lost,” Bradish said when asked if there were positives he could take from his performance. “I got through four, which is not even close to where I need to be at, so, no, not really.”

The four runs against Bradish shouldn’t have been insurmountable. Baltimore put a dent in that deficit when Henderson and Adley Rutschman — two former top prospects — ripped RBI doubles against right-hander Mitch Keller in the fifth inning.

Taylor Ward drove in Alexander with a double in the seventh inning to create a two-run deficit and force Soto into a save situation. But in the ninth Henderson’s home run wasn’t enough to lead a comeback.

Much can be placed at the feet of a poor second inning for Bradish, who is still finding his way back to being a dominant arm. But the Orioles aren’t concerned about two inefficient outings to begin the year.

“He’s really good, and he has some really good stuff,” Albernaz said. “Once he kind of fine-tunes that a little bit, I think he’s gonna be a problem.”

A problem for other teams, that is.

This article has been updated.