PITTSBURGH -- In back-to-back half innings, the Pirates and Rockies found themselves in identical situations. Game tied. Bases loaded. No outs. One team didn’t execute. The other team did. On Wednesday afternoon, that was all the difference.

The Pirates closed out a forgettable homestand with a frustration-inducing 4-3 loss to the Rockies at PNC Park. As has been the case over the last week-and-a-half, this loss was defined by miscues and missed opportunities.

“You have to go out there and play hard,” said Tucupita Marcano, who hit his first home run of the season, through team interpreter Stephen Morales. “Do the little things. The sun’s gonna come up tomorrow again. Just go out there and play hard again and try for tomorrow again.”

Manager Derek Shelton has repeatedly mentioned that the Pirates have been searching for their one big swing, their one big hit to revitalize the offense. In the sixth, they had their best opportunity of the series, loading the bases with no outs.

Bryan Reynolds drew a leadoff walk; Andrew McCutchen, who hit a two-run homer in the third inning, singled; Carlos Santana drew a walk to load the bases. Reynolds, McCutchen and Santana set the table for Connor Joe, the former Rockie who had an opportunity to erase a pair of lowlights.

Joe entered this momentous plate appearance having drawn two walks already, but he had been caught stealing on both of his attempts to swipe second base. Shelton said postgame that one of those caught stealing attempts was due to a miscommunication, but the caught stealing counts all the same. Joe worked a 3-2 count against the Rockies’ Daniel Bard, but struck out looking on a perfectly-placed outside sinker.

Still, the Pirates had a chance to plate the go-ahead run. Rockies manager Bud Black replaced Bard with left-hander Brad Hand to face Jack Suwinski, but Shelton countered by pulling Suwinski for Rodolfo Castro, a switch-hitter who is significantly better from the right side.

Castro lifted the ball to center field. Colorado outfielder Brenton Doyle tracked down Castro’s fly ball and unfurled a 98.1 mph throw. Reynolds broke home despite third base coach Mike Rabelo holding up the stop sign. Doyle’s throw beat Reynolds to the plate in plenty of time. Catcher Austin Wynns applied the tag on Reynolds and the inning ended. Shelton challenged the call for a potential blocking of the plate, but the call was confirmed.

“Number one, he made a throw in a big situation and, number two, Wynns did a good job staying in front of the base so there was no violation and stepping back to make a catch and a tag,” Shelton said. “Bang-bang play that just didn’t go our way.”

In the ensuing half-inning, the Rockies were in the exact same situation, loading the bases against right-hander Robert Stephenson with no outs. Unlike the Pirates, the Rockies didn’t leave the inning empty-handed as Jurickson Profar drove in the go-ahead run with a single. The Rockies ended up with just the one run, but it proved to be all they needed.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” Shelton said. “Bases loaded, nobody out, we don’t execute.”

The missed opportunity in the sixth wasn’t the only time that the Pirates’ lack of execution affected the complexity of the game.

In the fourth inning, with the Pirates leading by two runs, Rich Hill induced a weakly-hit comebacker that should have ended the inning, but the veteran southpaw fumbled the routine grounder, allowing the frame to roll along. Following the error, the Rockies would tie the game with back-to-back RBI singles from Wynns and Alan Trejo. Hill wouldn’t make it out of the inning, pulled by Shelton with two outs in the frame.

“I missed it. I just missed it,” Hill said. “That shouldn’t happen here. It cost us the game. Once again, it falls on me. Gonna sit on this one for the next five days and get ready for the next one. Frustration is definitely there with that. Very easy ground ball. I should have been able to execute it and didn’t.”

A week-and-a-half ago, the Pirates were 12 games over .500. Now, they’re down to four. Following an off-day on Thursday, they’ll take on the Orioles, one of several AL East powerhouses that are playing excellent ball.

The Pirates are searching for answers. Time will tell if they find them in Baltimore.