PITTSBURGH -- For nine innings on Monday night, the Pirates pitched well enough to win. When the runs finally came in the 10th inning, they were too little and too late, and the Bucs’ wild rally came up short in a 6-5 loss to the Cardinals at PNC Park.

That seems to be the way this season has gone for the Pirates, whether it’s that formula or the reverse or some combination of the two. When they’ve pitched well, they’ve too often lacked offensively. When their bats caught fire, their pitching came undone. Aside from one strong stretch at the beginning of the season and another leading into the All-Star break, Pittsburgh simply hasn’t fired on all cylinders consistently enough.

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That’s cost the Pirates dearly at a critical time. They ended the first half looking like contenders, but they’re now 46-53 after losing eight of 10 games to begin the second half.

“You could say we’re in a hole, so we’re going to have to dig our way out. Our team’s been able to fight through a lot of adversity the whole year,” reliever Clay Holmes said. “I don’t think this is any different. You can expect us to fight back and give everything we’ve got.”

Starter Trevor Williams did just that in the series opener. Coming off a stomach virus that sapped his strength, manager Clint Hurdle pushed Williams’ start back two days and asked the right-hander to “go as hard as you can and as strong as you can for as long as you can.”

Williams pitched well enough to keep his team in the game, working five innings and allowing two runs -- only one of them earned -- while tying a season high with seven strikeouts.

“Physically, I wish I could tell you I was at 100 percent,” Williams said.

Added Hurdle: “He gave us 100 percent of whatever percent that he did have walking in the door.”

Pittsburgh’s setup men, occasionally the source of frustration earlier this season, did the same. Michael Feliz, Francisco Liriano, Richard Rodríguez and Kyle Crick combined for four spotless innings with six strikeouts to preserve a 2-2 tie, giving the Bucs a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.

Melky Cabrera started the Pirates’ rally with a two-out infield single off John Brebbia. Pitcher Joe Musgrove pinch-ran for Cabrera and walked to second base after lefty Chasen Shreve plunked Adam Frazier. Up came Bryan Reynolds, who went down swinging on a splitter below the zone.

The ninth inning was not the Bucs’ first or only missed opportunity. They loaded the bases with one out in the first but didn’t score. They rallied with two outs in the third, when Starling Marte singled to left, Josh Bell walked and Colin Moran punched an RBI single up the middle. They tied the game against reliever Michael Wacha in the fourth on Reynolds’ 110.6 mph RBI double off the Clemente Wall. Then they went scoreless for five innings, forcing extras.

“We had opportunities -- multiple opportunities, again -- to finish this thing off in nine,” Hurdle said. “We get a good push in the first inning, who knows how the script’s written the rest of the game? We don’t.

“There were still a couple more opportunities to add on and get ahead, and we didn’t. You put yourself at the mercy of the game when you don’t take advantage of situations and opportunities when they’re there.”

With closer Felipe Vazquez unavailable after working back-to-back days, Hurdle called upon Holmes in the 10th inning. The right-hander promptly loaded the bases with one out before serving up a grand slam to Paul Goldschmidt, the fifth of the St. Louis slugger’s career. The red-clad fans still in the seats sent up raucous cheers that returned when the Cardinals took the field for the bottom of the inning.

“Couldn’t execute some pitches I needed to. It’s disappointing,” Holmes said. “It’s not a good feeling to let your teammates down, coaches, the fans. You feel it. It sucks.”

The Bucs quickly got one run back on consecutive doubles by Marte and Bell, forcing the Cards to summon closer Carlos Martinez. Jung Ho Kang made it a one-run game by clubbing Martinez’s first pitch into the left-field seats.

“Tonight’s another example of how we don’t quit,” shortstop Kevin Newman said.

Corey Dickerson reached on a single to right, and Newman hit a grounder that shortstop Paul DeJong couldn’t corral. Elias Diaz attempted to move the runners over with a bunt, but the Cardinals thwarted his efforts by throwing out Dickerson at third.

With two on and one out, Jacob Stallings knocked a single to right fielder Jose Martinez. Third-base coach Joey Cora waved Newman home, and the speedy rookie made the dash in 6.88 seconds, according to Statcast. But Martinez made an accurate 88.9 mph throw home -- “as hard as possible,” Martinez said -- and umpire Mike Estabrook ruled that catcher Andrew Knizner tagged Newman before his foot touched the plate.

“It seemed like he tagged me a little high,” Newman said, “and I thought my foot was in there.”

The call was upheld after a replay review, leaving the Pirates with two outs and runners on the corners. Frazier hit the first pitch he saw to right field -- deep enough for a sacrifice fly, if there had been a runner on third with only one out -- but Martinez settled under it to seal St. Louis’ victory.

“It’s frustrating. Obviously they thought they didn’t have enough to overturn it,” Newman said. “It seemed like, from what we saw, they might have been able to. It’s not up to me. Definitely a tough one to not go your way.”