PITTSBURGH -- With Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams on the injured list, the Pirates are patching together their pitching staff for the time being. That means they need the three sure things in their starting rotation -- Chris Archer, Jordan Lyles and Joe Musgrove -- to be at their best.

Archer pitched better Tuesday than he did last week in his return from the injured list, but he still fell short in the Pirates’ 5-0 loss to the Rockies at PNC Park. While Archer battled through five innings, the Bucs managed only three hits in eight innings against Colorado starter German Marquez. Pittsburgh has lost six of Archer’s seven starts this season.

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“I felt way better. If I could’ve made a couple pitches, some key pitches, the outlook of the game might have been a little different,” Archer said. “Looking at the bright side, it’s a step in the right direction.”

Archer did not look nearly as rusty as he did in Arizona last Wednesday, when he walked four and gave up seven runs (six earned) over 3 2/3 innings. He forced the Rockies to swing and miss on 13 of his 92 pitches and only issued two walks, although they proved to be costly. The first inning got away from Archer in his last outing, but he worked around a pair of singles in a 24-pitch first Tuesday.

“There were some good things going on. There were a couple glitches that cost him,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “There were some other sequences that were sharp and some things that were getting better.”

The Rockies’ first run came on a double and a botched rundown. The Pirates had Daniel Murphy caught between third base and home plate, but Francisco Cervelli’s throw to Colin Moran bounced off Murphy’s helmet. The ball rolled away, and Murphy scrambled home on the error.

“We closed the distance, and I think we didn’t keep a visible lane for the throw -- and I think the distance got too short,” Hurdle said. “It was kind of a quick throw that I don’t think Moran got a good look at. We did not execute the rundown very well.”

Archer couldn’t beat himself up over the way Colorado scored its second run, either. The right-hander threw a fastball in on Trevor Story, exactly where he said he wanted the 1-1 pitch, but Story pulled it over the left-field fence for a home run to lead off the second. Rookie Bryan Reynolds jumped in front of the wall to try to reel in Story’s homer, but the ball bounced off the end of his glove and into the stands.

What transpired in the fourth bothered Archer more than anything else. With one out, he threw eight consecutive balls to walk .219-hitting center fielder Ian Desmond and catcher Tony Wolters. Marquez advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt, then Charlie Blackmon ripped a changeup to left-center field for a two-run triple.

“Giving up the hits, giving up the homer, that’s one thing,” Archer said. “But throwing eight straight balls is something that you can’t do in the big leagues. Teams are going to take advantage.”

The way that Marquez breezed through the Pirates’ lineup, the Rockies hardly needed any help. Pittsburgh tried to capitalize on its best scoring chance in the fifth inning, sending Kevin Newman to pinch-hit for Archer with two on and two outs. Newman flied out to right, stranding both runners.

If that situation had not presented itself, Hurdle said Archer would have returned to start the sixth inning.

“I felt like I had more left in me, but we’re playing National League ball and their pitcher was dealing,” Archer said. “That was an opportunity for us to score. It didn’t work out that way.”

That forced the Bucs' bullpen to cover four innings. Right-hander Chris Stratton, who allowed one run in three innings, shouldered most of that workload. Righty Michael Feliz pitched a clean ninth inning.

The Pirates will need a fresh bullpen Wednesday night. With two starters down, rookie right-hander Montana DuRapau is set to serve as their “opener” after doing so in a 7-2 win over the Padres on Saturday.

Hurdle ejected

Hurdle was thrown out of the game in the eighth inning for arguing with the result of a replay-reviewed call. Bucs infielder Jake Elmore was ruled out after he hit a grounder to Marquez, but it did not appear that Marquez tagged Elmore with his glove -- only with his empty right hand -- as he blocked Elmore’s path to first base.

The Pirates challenged the out call, but it was upheld after a brief review. Hurdle immediately walked out of the dugout to argue with home-plate umpire Todd Tichenor. He was quickly ejected.

“You’re never going to get an explanation, and you know that. There just comes a point in time where, as a manager, you want to take a stand for the player,” Hurdle said. “I had a couple looks. Obviously they have more looks. I disagreed.”