Craig Hansen's wild eighth inning -- one hit, three walks, zero outs -- cost the Pirates a late lead and, ultimately, a 14-9 loss to the Chicago Cubs tonight before 17,929 at PNC Park.

John Grabow escaped a wobbly seventh inning in which he walked two and threw a wild pitch without conceding a run to protect an 8-7 lead. But he gave up Mike Fontenot's poked single into center to lead off the eighth, and manager John Russell turned to Hansen, who had been scored upon in half of his eight outings since coming to the Pirates as part of the Jason Bay trade.

That did not go well.

Alfonso Soriano singled to put two aboard, and Hansen simply stopped throwing strikes: A five-pitch walk to Ryan Theriot loaded the bases, a seven-pitch walk to Derrek Lee tied the score, and a four-pitch walk to Aramis Ramirez handed Chicago a 9-8 lead.

The breakdown: 18 pitches, 12 balls and, the most alarming one, just eight fastballs for someone reputed to have a power arm.

Hansen's arrival came with a tag that he lacked control, too, but he has done little to dispel that with 12 walks in 10 innings, to go with a 6.20 ERA.

Sean Burnett relieved and was hit hard, giving up Reed Johnson's RBI single and Geovany Soto's three-run double that left him with a career-high seven RBIs on the night.

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The Pirates' latest losing streak reached six, matching the season high set April 15-21. And their record since the Bay trade fell to 7-17. They have given up 57 runs during the streak, four times allowing the opponent double-digits.

They also moved within seven losses of 82, the number that will clinch a 16th consecutive losing season to match the professional sports record.

The Pirates frustrated Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano with three runs in the first, those coming on Adam LaRoche's two-run double and Freddy Sanchez's two-out RBI single. When Zambrano returned to the visitors' dugout, he knocked over a Gatorade cooler and kicked a wall, among many other animated activities.

Ian Snell had held Chicago to a run and two hits through three innings, but the Cubs came with full force in the fourth: Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Soto, and his double into the right-field corner cleared them. Next, Zambrano's sharp single into left brought a 5-3 lead.

The latter was no groaner, either: It was Zambrano's 13th consecutive start with a hit, his eighth with an RBI.

But the back and forth was just beginning.

Ryan Doumit's RBI single in the bottom half was answered by a Chicago run in the fifth, followed by two more for the Pirates right away: The latter came on Jack Wilson's RBI double and a run-scoring forceout by pinch-hitter Jason Michaels.

That put the score at 6-6 through five, each starter failing to last that long.

Snell was charged with five runs on five hits and four walks over four innings, a blunt regression from his season-best showing last week in St. Louis.

Denny Bautista gave up the Chicago run in the fifth, and Tyler Yates took that 6-6 tie to the mound for the sixth. But not for long: His 2-2 fastball -- just 89 mph, well below par -- to the leadoff man, Soto, resulted in a towering home run beyond the North Side Notch.

The Pirates bopped right back on Doug Mientkiewicz's two-run triple in the sixth, one punctuated by a demonstrative hand clap and fist pump at third base. His team had an 8-7 lead, and he had his 400th career RBI and first triple since July 7, 2006, while a member of the Kansas City Royals.

Earlier that inning, Soriano dropped Adam LaRoche's routine fly for an error reminiscent of the two-out, ninth-inning misplay May 25 that brought the Pirates a stunning 6-5 victory. That ball, off Nate McLouth's bat, was lost in the sun.

Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.