PITTSBURGH -- As Braves fans lamented Craig Kimbrel landing with the Cubs, Kevin Gausman created further reason to believe Atlanta’s primary need is to strengthen its starting rotation.

One week after producing one of the least effective starts in Braves history, Gausman was nearly every bit as ineffective in Wednesday night’s 7-4 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park. The veteran pitcher allowed seven hits during a five-run second inning that resembled the consecutive four-run innings he surrendered last week against the Nationals.

“I think it’s a mixture of me not making pitches when I need to,” Gausman said. “I feel like I’m right where I need to be, but the results aren’t saying I am. I feel like everybody is throwing the ball really well, and I’d like to contribute.”

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Ronald Acuña Jr. and Dansby Swanson hit back-to-back home runs to deny Joe Musgrove’s complete-game bid and highlight a three-run ninth that provided some intrigue at the end of what felt like an ugly loss. The Braves have now seen their starting pitchers allow at least five earned runs in four of the past six games.

Mike Soroka has produced National League Cy Young Award-worthy credentials and fellow youngster Max Fried has shown he can at least be an effective middle-of-the-rotation asset. Julio Teheran has been quite effective over the past month, but his lack of efficiency creates concern for what lies ahead. Mike Foltynewicz has been effective in just three of his eight starts and Gausman has seen his ERA jump from 4.33 to 6.15 as he has allowed 15 earned runs while totaling just six innings over the past two starts.

So the Braves aren’t feeling as good as they did when this rotation posted a 2.42 ERA over a 17-game stretch from May 9-26. Now that Kimbrel has reportedly reached a three-year deal with the Cubs, many Atlanta fans will shift their focus from the bullpen to the rotation and continue to lobby for free-agent Dallas Keuchel or another proven starter available via trade.

Keuchel’s apparent willingness to accept a one-year deal makes the possibility of him signing with the Braves more likely than a Kimbrel deal ever was. But the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner ending up in Atlanta still seems less likely than the Braves eventually trading for Madison Bumgarner or another starter who might come available.

“Nothing is ever going to ride for six months smooth,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You’ve got to work around things and get certain parts of your game back going. [The rotation] was really, really good. Now, there’s a bump in the road, and we’ve just got to grind through it, make some adjustments and get it back to where it was.”

Contrary to what Gausman said about being where he needs to be, he is far from being the dependable asset he was after being acquired before last year’s Trade Deadline. Last week against the Nationals, he became the first pitcher in Braves history to allow at least eight hits and eight earned runs over one inning.

The Pirates added to the onslaught as they battered Gausman for 12 hits, which matches a career high, and seven earned runs over five innings. Once Wednesday’s second inning mercifully ended with Starling Marte being thrown out attempting to score on Josh Bell's RBI double, Gausman had surrendered 13 runs within the past four innings in which he had appeared.

“When you’re not able to throw pitches for strikes, [opposing batters] can start to eliminate them,” Gausman said. “But I definitely didn’t feel like I was tipping or anything like that. Some of the base hits were perfectly placed.”

Gausman has become a two-pitch pitcher as he has shied away from the slider he used 14.3 percent of the time last year. He believes he can be considered a three-pitch pitcher because the action of his sinker is similar to that of a changeup. But at the same time, Gausman at least concedes he needs to regain confidence in his slider. He threw it three times Wednesday, one of which resulted in Elias Díaz’s two-run homer in the second.

“I’ve had plenty of really good starts at this level throwing just two pitches,” Gausman said. “I got some big outs with [the slider] in some big situations. It’s a pitch I work on a lot. I’m trying to really find the confidence in it.”

Gausman is attempting to find the comfort that the Pirates showed as they recorded five consecutive two-out hits, including Musgrove’s single against a center-cut 2-2 fastball, in the second inning. He produced a 2.87 ERA over 10 starts for Atlanta last year, but his recent lack of success with his two-pitch repertoire jeopardizes his long-standing place within the rotation.

“He’s going through a funk or something,” Snitker said. “We need him. We’ve got to get him right.”