PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates headed to Texas on Sunday night riding an eight-game losing streak, a growing collection of key injuries and one of the Majors’ least productive lineups. The Bucs have questions to answer, and thanks to a steady stream of emails over the last week, so do we in the latest Inbox.

What can the Pirates do to get their bats going? I feel bad for the pitchers. It must be stressful to know you can’t give up two runs if you want to win.
-- Sharon B., Pittsburgh

It starts with personnel -- getting Starling Marte back in the lineup soon and getting Corey Dickerson back as soon as possible. They were the Pirates’ two most valuable position players last season, and people around the team often say that they go as Marte goes. Get those guys and Gregory Polanco on base in front of Josh Bell, and you’ll see more runs on the board.

The good news is Marte should be back soon. The bad news is Dickerson wasn’t able to start a rehab assignment as expected over the weekend due to tightness in his shoulder. Yes, Melky Cabrera and Bryan Reynolds are hitting well in their absence -- but injuries have a domino effect, and it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have those two available as spot starters/switch-hitting bench bats.

Performance is the more immediate issue. The Pirates expect more offensively out of Adam Frazier (.682 OPS), Francisco Cervelli (.479 OPS) and Jung Ho Kang (.582 OPS). They’re not the only players who have struggled, but they are core players who rank second, third and fifth on the team in plate appearances this season.

It’s fair to assume that Frazier and Cervelli, at least, will bounce back based on their recent track records. Frazier’s average exit velocity is down, but he’s walking more and striking out less than last season. Cervelli’s underlying numbers are more concerning, as he’s making less hard contact than a year ago while also striking out more and walking less.

The Bucs rank last in the National League with 21 home runs. They’re near the bottom of the NL in slugging percentage. That makes it all the more important that they capitalize on scoring opportunities with timely hits. They haven’t done that often enough, and it’s cost them in a number of close games.

Pittsburgh is batting .222 with runners in scoring position and just .205 (with 20 RBIs) with a runner on third and fewer than two outs. The club is 0-for-16 with the bases loaded. The Pirates can’t put more pressure on themselves, because that often has the opposite of the intended effect, but they have to execute better in those situations.

Can you give us anything to feel good about with this team right now? I was so excited when they were in first and playing well, but this week sucked the energy right out of me.
-- James T., Pittsburgh

You know it’s been rough when this question shows up. Old injuries getting aggravated. New injuries presenting themselves, from the top of the rotation with Chris Archer (right thumb inflammation) to down on the farm with intriguing prospect Oneil Cruz (fractured foot). After a week of mostly good pitching but not enough offense, the Bucs scored six runs on Sunday, but their pitching and defense didn’t hold up.

The only thing missing is Lloyd Christmas screaming, “Our pets’ heads are falling off!”

But since you asked, here are a handful of silver linings.

Bell continues to hit, and it seems to be sustainable. Cabrera and Reynolds might help them withstand the continued absences of Dickerson and Lonnie Chisenhall. Keone Kela has put together four straight scoreless appearances, and Felipe Vazquez still hasn’t allowed an earned run this season. The rotation entered Monday with the best ERA (3.23) and WHIP (1.09) in the NL.

It's too early to draw a final conclusion, but the early results suggest the Pirates paid too high a price for Chris Archer. He's pitching well, but Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows are having great early seasons, and they aren't the full price paid. What's your early take?
-- Dave M., Pittsburgh

There’s no doubt that it’s worked out better for the Rays so far, but as you said, it’s still too early to draw a final conclusion. We have three months of performance to evaluate. Archer’s contract includes affordable club options for the next two years, while Meadows and Glasnow will be under club control for even longer in Tampa Bay.

Archer struggled last August. He was very good last September. He had three strong starts to begin the season, then he lost his last two outings while pitching with an injured right thumb. The Pirates will get what they wanted out of the deal if Archer pitches up to his potential, and they believe we still haven’t seen the best of him yet.

It’s no surprise to see Meadows succeeding. He’s going to play well, no matter where he is, as long as he stays healthy. The Pirates liked him for a reason, and the Rays insisted on him being part of the deal for a reason. That’s the cost of doing business.

There’s a lot to like about 19-year-old right-hander Shane Baz, but we’re years away from knowing what the former first-round Draft pick turned player to be named will turn out to be.

The player who’s swung the deal in the Rays’ favor so far is Glasnow, who is 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 38 strikeouts and only seven walks in 36 innings over six starts this season. He’s been every bit the pitcher who was promised here years ago.

The Pirates helped Glasnow develop into an elite prospect and watched him put up video-game numbers in Triple-A, but it didn’t immediately translate into Major League success. They must ask themselves why it wasn’t working out -- why Glasnow was a middle reliever with good stuff and unremarkable results at the time of the trade -- because it’s imperative that they develop prospects like Glasnow into stars.

Some of that probably falls on Glasnow. He got a chance to start in 2017, but his decision to slow down his delivery diminished his high-octane stuff. He suppressed the natural cut on his fastball -- seriously, he throws a 97-mph cutter now -- until last spring. He had a 5.79 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 56 appearances for the Pirates, and there were times it seemed like he didn’t trust his stuff the way he does now.

Maybe it would have all eventually clicked for Glasnow in Pittsburgh. He told ESPN on Sunday that “a fresh start is probably what did it,” though, so maybe a change of scenery was necessary for him to unlock his potential.

"The physical stuff has come along with the mental stuff," Glasnow said, according to ESPN. "I think I've always had the ability to throw strikes. I just needed to believe my stuff. That's what's changed."