The Pirates began their season-ending stretch of 19 games in 17 days in dispiriting fashion on Friday night, falling behind early and coming up short late in a 4-3 loss to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

Here’s a look at three things that went right and three things that went wrong as Pittsburgh fell to 14-28 on the year.

3 UP

1) Young Hayes keeps shining
When the Pirates called up Ke’Bryan Hayes on Sept. 1, he arrived with a reputation as an outstanding defensive third baseman, someone who will contend for Gold Gloves in the near future. But Hayes, the Pirates’ No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, immediately commanded attention with his hitting, his speed on the bases and his baseball instincts.

• Box score

All three of those things were on display in the series opener, as Hayes went 2-for-4 with his first stolen base while batting third in just his eighth game. So, too, was his excellent defense, as he made an incredibly smooth barehanded play on Whit Merrifield’s leadoff bunt attempt in the first inning.

“I had noticed that he had gotten in a stance and kind of peaked down to see where I was at. I was kind of back or whatever, so I saw that and took a step or two in,” Hayes said. “As the pitcher was going, I kind of crept in and got some momentum. It was a good bunt, but he bunted a little too hard and I was able to get him out.”

As manager Derek Shelton said afterward, “You don’t see too many guys make that play.” The praise kept coming for the Pirates’ standout rookie.

“I was genuinely surprised. I thought we had no shot of getting that out,” starter Steven Brault said. “I was blown away. He’s so good.”

Added first baseman Josh Bell: "I have heard a lot of really good things about Ke'Bryan, and day in, day out, he's showing it to me. I had a conversation with Whit further on in the game about Ke'Bryan. He's like, 'Dude, I've never seen anybody make that play.' And I was like, 'Yeah, me neither.' … The kid's spectacular. He's showing it. He's a lot of fun to watch. It's definitely a show when he's on the field."

2) Bell on time
In the eighth inning, Bell capped a three-hit night -- just his second of the year -- by pulling a high fastball from Scott Barlow out to right field for a two-run homer that cut the Pirates’ deficit to one run. Bell’s fifth blast of the season traveled a projected 426 feet, per Statcast.

It’s always an issue of timing with Bell, specifically whether he’s on time for opposing pitchers’ fastballs. He was clearly synced with the up-and-in fastball Barlow threw him in the eighth, and he battled to knock a pair of fastballs from lefty starter Kris Bubic into right field earlier in the game.

After going 1-for-19 over a six-game stretch following his last homer on Aug. 30, Bell has gone 7-for-14 in his last four games. He’s still hitting just .224 with a .646 OPS, but Friday night brought something to smile about.

"Finally, some of the work I've been doing is paying off. Felt good,” Bell said. “Hopefully more to come."

3) High-leverage Hartlieb
Reliever Geoff Hartlieb, one of the Pirates’ most pleasant surprises this season, breezed through the bottom of the Royals’ lineup in order without letting a ball get out of the infield in the eighth. Pittsburgh couldn’t capitalize in the ninth, as veteran Royals reliever Greg Holland shut the door, but Hartlieb did his job after Bell’s two-run homer and kept the game close.

After posting a 9.00 ERA as opponents hit .351 off him last year, Hartlieb now has a 1.86 ERA while holding opponents to a .200 average in 19 1/3 innings over 16 appearances.

3 DOWN

1) Another short start
Brault gave up a solo shot to Adalberto Mondesi, the second hitter he faced, then needed 30 pitches to get out of the first inning.

He gave up two more runs in a frustrating third inning, but the bigger problem for Brault was his pitch count. He threw 97 pitches and recorded only 12 outs, putting a lot of stress on a bullpen that’s going to be worked hard during the final stretch.

“Just in general, I have to get ahead of hitters more, attack like I did that fourth inning,” Brault said. “That’s just going to be something to take into my next outing.”

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It’s a recurring issue for the Pirates. While some of their shorter starts have been by design -- piggyback outings or purposely limited pitch counts -- their rotation has completed five innings in half of their first 42 games. They’ve only had four six-inning starts, with Trevor Williams responsible for three of them.

“We have to be more efficient. We have to attack the zone better,” Shelton said. “Honestly, we would love for our starting pitchers to be able to throw six, seven innings and continue to pound the zone and go. I think that would be ideal.”

2) LOB city
The Pirates gave themselves a chance early against Bubic in the second inning with runners on the corners, but Jacob Stallings, Adam Frazier and Cole Tucker all struck out swinging to end the threat. Stallings redeemed himself with an RBI double in a similar situation in the fourth, but the second inning screamed for a ball in play.

“Even there, if we get a double play, we get a run,” Shelton said. “They were all elevated fastballs. We have to do a better job of identifying the pitch that we’re going to be able to take a good swing on.”

The Pirates went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, stranding eight runners.

3) Defensive deficiencies
The Pirates didn’t add to their Major League-leading error total on Friday night, but second baseman Kevin Newman booted a ball hit directly at him in the first inning, extending Brault’s pitch count.

Then in the seventh, Mondesi used his speed and the Pirates’ lack of awareness to create a run. He worked a leadoff walk against Chris Stratton, stole second and third then scored on Maikel Franco’s single to right, giving the Royals a 4-1 lead.

“Mondesi’s one of the fastest guys in the game, so the first one, he sold on a 3-2 pitch,” Shelton said. “The steal of third, we have got to do a better job of controlling him there and getting him to stop. From watching it … he just never stops. When you get a guy that’s an elite runner, that can’t happen.”