PITTSBURGH -- Pirates left-hander Steven Brault did his job on Friday night, holding the dangerous Dodgers lineup to two runs over 5 2/3 innings. But by the time Brault first toed the rubber at PNC Park, the Bucs were down five runs in a game they eventually lost, 10-2.

That’s because righty Michael Feliz, informed that he would be the “opener” when he arrived at the ballpark on Friday afternoon, gave up five runs and recorded only one out in the first inning. He gave up three straight hits and walked Corey Seager before former Pirate David Freese launched a grand slam to right-center field.

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“They’ve got a dynamic lineup. They’re a talented team. They have a lot of great depth,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “However, you’ve got to make pitches and execute pitches to get outs, and unfortunately, Michael wasn’t able to do either one.”

This was not what the Pirates imagined when they constructed their pitching staff earlier this year. They started the season with one of the Majors’ best rotations, carrying a 1.96 ERA after 18 games. Feliz, meanwhile, started the season in the bullpen for Triple-A Indianapolis.

“This wasn’t one of our first thoughts breaking camp, because of the depth of our rotation and the people that we had in play,” Hurdle said. “You need to look at your weapons and the guys that you have out there and what you can do.”

How did they get to this point? And where do they go from here?

When asked before Friday’s game why he decided to start Feliz, Hurdle first pointed to “who’s been eliminated, who’s not an option.” It’s a long list. The Pirates are without injured starters Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams, absences that pushed Nick Kingham and Brault out of the Opening Day bullpen and into the rotation.

But Brault and Kingham struggled, and with right-hander JT Brubaker sidelined by a right forearm strain, the Pirates weren’t comfortable calling up any of their Triple-A starters -- not even their No. 1 prospect Mitch Keller, who is adding a slider to his arsenal. They chose instead to employ an opener in front of Brault and Kingham, hoping their performances would improve if they didn’t have to face the top of the order more than twice.

The opener strategy requires a deep and effective bullpen, however, and the Pirates have had their relief depth stretched thin

Right-hander Richard Rodríguez was demoted after struggling early on. Setup man Keone Kela has been injured. Hard-throwing rookie Nick Burdi is out indefinitely due to nerve damage in his right biceps. That forced lefty Francisco Liriano into high-leverage work in front of setup man Kyle Crick and closer Felipe Vázquez. Nobody else in the Pirates’ bullpen on Friday night was on their Opening Day roster.

Right-hander Montana DuRapau, who started the first two times the Bucs used an opener, was unavailable on Friday after throwing 35 pitches over the previous two days. The Pirates instead turned to Feliz, who entered the night with a 5.24 ERA, and asked him to make his first Major League start.

Feliz immediately gave up a single to Matt Beaty, an RBI double to Max Muncy and a single to Justin Turner. He retired Cody Bellinger (who later hit his 18th home run off reliever Geoff Hartlieb) then walked Seager to bring up Freese. Feliz ran up a full count, and Freese -- after being welcomed back with his old walk-up song -- clobbered a fastball out to right-center field.

“I love it here. I love the fans. I love playing at this park,” Freese said. “They played my walkout song. Maybe that’s why I’m pumped. That fired me up. It’s cool.”

Pittsburgh’s pitching depth may have taken another hit in the seventh inning, when right-hander Chris Stratton -- acquired as a long reliever and potential spot starter -- exited the game after five pitches due to right side discomfort. Hurdle then called on rookie Hartlieb, who allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings.

The most encouraging development of the night was Brault’s performance, which was a step in the right direction after he allowed 10 runs in 11 innings over his last three outings.

“Not trying to go out just to eat innings, but trying to be effective,” Brault said. “Those last three innings were a good show of just little things -- trying to get ahead of hitters more, and we were able to do that more in those last three innings.”

Brault previously struggled to the point that the Pirates decided to implement two “opener” days in their rotation. He’d like to give management a reason to make him a full-time starter again.

“I would hope so, but it’s not up to me,” Brault said. “I know that right now, we need our starters to go long. We haven’t been able to do that as much; I obviously include myself there. If I can build on more outings like this, hopefully they’ll gain that full trust and we’ll be able to do it.”

The Pirates need to find solutions soon, because their schedule offers no breaks. Just the opposite, in fact. They have traditional starters lined up for Saturday (Joe Musgrove) and Sunday (Chris Archer) but only Kingham -- who has allowed 13 runs in a combined eight innings in his last two outings -- ready for Monday’s doubleheader in Cincinnati.

Their other options include Keller, who is scheduled to start Sunday for Indianapolis, and non-roster right-hander Alex McRae, who is in line to pitch for Indianapolis on Monday.