PITTSBURGH -- If there has been one consistent element of Quinn Priester's brief Major League career, it is probably the inconsistency.

For three innings Tuesday, he was sharp, front-hipping sinkers to right-handed hitters and using his full pitch mix to left-handers. He allowed just one base runner. He looked in control, as he had for most of his previous two outings when he picked up a pair of quality starts.

Things started going off the rails in the fourth, with Kevin Pillar pouncing on an inside sinker that was supposed to be on the outer-third of the plate for a three-run homer. The Angels would end up tallying five runs (three earned) against Priester over his 4 1/3 innings, which paired with a three-hit performance by the Pirates’ offense for a long night at PNC Park. Los Angeles would go on to win, 9-0.

In Priester’s eyes, he was getting the Angels to take swings they didn’t want to take through those first three innings. In the fourth, he started to hyperfocus on throwing strikes.

“Certainly, that is the goal,” explained Priester. “That’s what you want to do every time, but it’s also not great to hyperfocus on it. Just go out there and keep continuing to move smoothly and we probably avoid a lot of that.”

Priester hasn’t had a single run of support while he was still pitching in his four Major League starts this year, which almost makes his performance on the mound a secondary concern to the offense’s struggles. Manager Derek Shelton acknowledged that he thinks that can play a factor on his performance, but he didn’t let it become an excuse.

“The things that he can control are the most important things,” said Shelton. “Obviously, the fact that we haven't scored any runs for him is definitely a challenge for him. But in terms of him singularly, we have to just continue to finish that development."

In four Major League starts this year, Priester has had two decisively good and not-so-good outings. The starts that haven't been as effective -- including most of the ones from last year -- have included a string of several quality innings, if not the majority of the outing. But it can be just one inning or one or two mistakes that get things to snowball.

On Tuesday, it was Pillar’s homer -- which was immediately preceded by a four-pitch walk to Willie Calhoun -- and an error by Priester in the fifth. After fielding Brandon Drury’s comebacker, he appeared to have Mickey Moniak caught between second and third for an out, but he short-hopped his toss to second for an error.

“You’re always trying to avoid that [big inning],” Priester said. “My thing is ... just on to the next one. I don’t have a non-swear word, but screw it and on to the next one.”

Innings like that can make assessing Priester’s Major League tenure a bit of a challenge. How much stock can be put into those first three innings compared to the final result?

“I mean, we have to look at the three innings where his stuff was really good,” Shelton said. “And then, we have to also assess the last two innings where his stuff wasn't as sharp. It's just going to be the final piece of the development of a Major League pitcher."

It’s unrealistic to expect every young pitcher to come up and pitch to the level Jared Jones has to this point. At the same time, it’s a results-oriented business, and the team’s top prospect is waiting in Triple-A. There’s no word yet whether Paul Skenes’ next start is going to be in Indianapolis or Pittsburgh, but we’re at least at the point where his promotion is a serious possibility. When that happens, there’s a decent chance Priester will be the odd man out if the team sticks with a five-man rotation.

A common theme for this team the past few years is that development isn’t always linear. Priester’s results can attest to that.

“Pitching in the big leagues is hard, and there's certain things, hurdles that you have to get over,” Shelton said. “And I think we still have some of those tasks or hurdles with Quinn. And he'll get there. I mean, this kid's gonna be a good Major League starter. But, there's just things in his development that need to continue to go."