TAMPA, Fla. -- The Pirates are looking for a fifth starter, and Steven Brault wants to be that guy. But he didn’t improve his chances on Thursday against the Yankees in his second Spring Training start.

In one-plus inning, he yielded four runs on three hits and four walks. Brault threw just 22 strikes in a 48-pitch outing.

The 26-year-old left-hander is battling Jordan Lyles, Nick Kingham and Rookie Davis for the No. 5 starter job. His Thursday start found him facing a potent Yankees lineup that featured both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

“It’s a good lineup, obviously, and I wanted to come in here and be perfect,” Brault said. “And it’s just not realistic. You’re not always going to be perfect.”

He was unable to retire Judge or Stanton in a rocky first inning, and clean-up hitter Troy Tulowitzki made him pay. The Yankees’ new shortstop sent Brault’s 3-2 pitch over the left-field fence for a three-run homer, scoring Judge, who doubled, and Stanton, who walked.

“I threw a lot of pitches in that first inning. I got pretty tired early,” Brault said. “I kind of let it get to me a little bit, the big profile hitters. That second inning, I came out and just wasn’t myself. I kind of lost what I’d been working on last season and used last outing.”

Strike-zone consistency and fastball command is what Hurdle said he wanted to see out of his starter, but Brault’s second start didn’t match his debut. He walked all three batters he faced in the second inning, and his day was done before facing Judge, Stanton or Tulowitzki a second time.

“His first outing was very, very good,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “The ball/strike ratio was really good [23 pitches/19 strikes]. The command, the location was very good.”

Brault worked two scoreless innings against the Phillies in his spring debut last Saturday. He struck out two and allowed just one hit.

He went 6-3 last season in 45 games (five starts) for the Pirates, posting a 4.61 ERA. He was most effective in the 20 relief appearances in which he worked two-plus innings. Brault posted a 2.19 ERA in those situations. His last start for the Pirates was on April 27.

The International League’s Most Valuable Player in 2017, Brault was also the Pirates Minor League Pitcher Of The Year that season, going 10-5 with a 1.94 ERA in 21 games, all but one as a starter.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to start grinding again and keep going with it,” he said. “I don’t think it was that I need to change something. I think it’s that I need to make sure that I really get it ground into me so that no matter what the situation is, I’m still able to stay in that same place that I’ve been in.”