PITTSBURGH -- If the ball remained fair, the game would be tied.

With runners on first and second in the seventh inning, two outs and the Pirates trailing by two, Cal Mitchell slapped Marcus Stroman's payoff slurve down the left-field line. If Mitchell’s drive found and took a friendly bounce, Tucupita Marcano and Ji Hwan Bae would’ve scored.

Neither had the chance to touch home. The ball sliced foul. On the very next pitch, Stroman struck out Mitchell swinging with a perfectly-placed slider and slowly, yet emphatically, slapped his chest as he walked off the field.

That two-pitch sequence summarized the Pirates’ recent offensive woes as they endured their third shutout in their past four games in a 4-0 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday night at PNC Park, extending their losing streak to eight games.

“We got to figure out a way to score runs,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to pull ourselves out of this.”

During this eight-game slide, Pittsburgh scored 17 total runs (2.1 per game) and slashed .174/.240/.284 as a collective. The Pirates haven’t scored in their past 24 innings, their last runs coming in the third inning of Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the Brewers. It should come as no surprise, then, that several position players are stuck in ruts.

Jack Suwinski has gone hitless with eight strikeouts to two walks in his last seven games. Connor Joe has five hits in his last 25 at-bats (.200). Ke’Bryan Hayes is 8-for-37 (.216) with 13 strikeouts since his five-hit game against the Mets. Marcano has five hits in his last 10 games.

The addition of Henry Davis stands to provide a boost offensively, but with just two games on his resumé, the rookie is still familiarizing himself with the Majors.

“It’s a hard situation,” first baseman Carlos Santana said. “It’s a hard moment for the team. We have an eight-game [losing] streak, but we’re trying to get better. Tomorrow is a new day and we’ll try to finish the series strong.”

When the Pirates have had chances, they haven’t been able to consistently capitalize. Since June 13, the date this skid began, the Bucs are 4-for-43 (.093) with runners in scoring position, the worst mark in the Majors during this stretch.

On Tuesday, the Pirates went hitless in three at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Complicating the matter of generating offense is the status of Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds. Shelton does not anticipate McCutchen nor Reynolds going on injured list -- Shelton debunked a report pregame that Reynolds was headed to the injured list due to an oblique injury — but he noted that McCutchen is dealing with a sore right elbow while Reynolds is managing a lower back issue.

McCutchen, who has four hits and five walks in his past five games, navigated a right elbow issue during Spring Training and described his right ailment as “precautionary.”

“Just want to make sure that I can grind through it,” McCutchen said. “I’ve been grinding. Trying to get through some of these games as much as I can. If I’m 70 percent, just trying to bring my 70 percent to the game.

“I also want to be smart about some of the decisions. We’ll be day-to-day about it. … I don’t think it’s going to be anything too crazy.”

Pittsburgh has navigated a similar funk earlier this season. In their first 13 games in May, the Pirates scored 20 runs in 13 games and had a collective .536 OPS. The tough times came to pass. In their next 13 games, the Bucs scored 65 runs with a .762 OPS.

“Hate to say it, but we were here once before,” McCutchen said. “We just have to let the game come to us, breathe a little bit and let the game work itself out. Don’t feel like you have to try and do too much or do more.

“Just have to stay within yourself, trust the guy behind you and chip away. That’s all we got to do.”