ATLANTA -- Bryan Reynolds has played two key roles for the Pirates this season: offensive catalyst and veteran in a clubhouse full of rookies.

Over his past three games, the 27-year-old is 8-for-12, including a 3-for-4 performance with two RBIs in Saturday's 10-4 loss to the Braves at Truist Park. Reynolds has three straight multihit games, including two season-high three-hit nights through three of the four games in Atlanta.

"I just swing at good pitches and just [try] putting the ball in play, having some lucky breaks, hitting some balls hard," Reynolds said.

Starter Zach Thompson gave the Pirates a chance to win, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out four with one walk over five innings. The two runs came on solo homers which he gave up in the first inning. The right-hander threw four scoreless innings after the early runs and exited the game with Pittsburgh in front 4-2, hoping to snap the Braves' nine-game win streak.

"I made one mistake, really, to [Austin] Riley. [Ronald] Acuña [Jr.], just tip your cap. It was a great job of hitting that," Thompson said. "But I got some reassurance that I was making some really good pitches. Just going back out there and keep doing my thing."

The Pirates’ pitching staff entered Saturday's game with a 2.85 ERA (45 earned runs over 142 innings) over the team's past 16 games, the third-lowest ERA in Major League Baseball in that span. On Saturday, the bullpen allowed eight runs over three innings. All eight runs came in the seventh inning, led by the Braves clearing the bases twice -- on a three-run single by Dansby Swanson and then a grand slam by Ozzie Albies after the team elected to intentionally walk Matt Olson. Duane Underwood Jr., who was credited with the loss, and Chris Stratton were charged with the damage.

"The biggest thing was being ahead of all three guys who had hits today," said Stratton, who gave up five runs on three hits and one walk without recording an out. "That’s the most disappointing thing. That was a big situation. I failed my team. Definitely, a tough one to swallow, but I don’t know if I would have changed any pitch selection. Just gotta credit them for putting the bat on the ball and trying to make something happen."

While scoring has been lackluster, hits haven't been as hard to come by for the Pirates. Pittsburgh has 22 hits over its past three games, with more than five hits in each, including six from one of the seven rookies on the team's 26-man roster. Three of those six hits came from Tucupita Marcano, who's reached base safely in 11 of his 13 games since being promoted from Double-A Altoona on May 27.

In the clubhouse, players get the best sense of how one another is adjusting to new scenery. While manager Derek Shelton believes Reynolds has "good conversations," with the new guys, Shelton thinks the rookies are handling their own.

"We got a bunch of young players, a bunch of young outfielders specifically," Reynolds said. "[I] haven't really had to do anything crazy because they came up [with an] even-keeled attitude and just kind of got after it. We got some good youth on this team, definitely."

The team is looking to find its footing during its five-game losing streak, but don't expect to see Shelton cut back on playing the rookies.

"Most nights, we're probably going to have four of them in there just with the way our outfield is set up and Diego [Castillo] and depending on what our matchup is with Marcano," Shelton said. "But I would be prepared if you're watching us. There's probably going to be three to five in there, almost every night."