PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates fell, 4-1, to the Cubs on Wednesday night at PNC Park, marking their eighth loss in nine games.

The contest was, in large part, a culmination of many of the issues that have hurt Pittsburgh during this 1-8 stretch. Here’s a look at what the Pirates need to clean up in order to give themselves a better chance to get on a roll, as they continue a stretch of 13 of 15 games at home.

• Box score

Short, struggling starts
The Pirates’ rotation largely got off on a great footing this season, but it’s been tested the past few weeks.

The latest installment came Wednesday, as Wil Crowe struggled to limit the damage and was removed after facing only 11 batters, with three runs on his line. The Pirates’ No. 23 prospect had trouble locating his pitches, exiting with a strike rate of less than 50%, which led to a stretch of five of six batters reaching base in the second inning. That included David Bote’s two-run homer, the 20th homer Pittsburgh has allowed in this nine-game stretch.

“I was out there grinding, trying to get that one pitch, that one count, that one batter to click for me, and it never did,” Crowe said.

Pittsburgh’s starters have combined to post a 9.38 ERA since May 16, the worst mark in MLB in that span. Part of it has been some lopsided run totals, including nine runs vs. Tyler Anderson and seven runs vs. JT Brubaker in Atlanta. Part of it is short starts, like Trevor Cahill’s one-plus inning in St. Louis and Crowe’s outing vs. the Cubs.

Off on offense
The Pirates were quiet on offense on Wednesday, which has extended a startling trend.

Ben Gamel reached base on a triple that was misplayed by Joc Pederson in right field in the first inning. Outside of that, Cubs starter Trevor Williams faced the minimum through five innings before Kevin Newman led off the sixth with a double, then scored on an Erik González single.

It was the only run Pittsburgh would score. That marks the fourth time in a five-game span that the Pirates scored only one run, and it’s the 14th time this season they’ve plated one run or fewer in a game -- the most such games in MLB.

“We're not going to sit and hit the ball out of the ballpark with anybody,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We have to be able to create opportunities, and when we have those opportunities, we have to capitalize on them. Right now, the few that we're creating, we're not capitalizing on."

'Pen to prosper
One of the unfortunate parts of the skid by the starting pitching and offense is that the Pirates haven’t set up their bullpen for success.

With Crowe lasting only 1 1/3 innings, the bullpen had to cover the load. Duane Underwood Jr. entered with two on and one out, but stranded both runners on his way to allowing only one hit and one walk over 3 2/3 scoreless innings. It’s the second time Underwood has had to enter a tough second-inning spot in the past nine games, as he also entered with the bases loaded and no outs on May 19 in St. Louis, a game in which he allowed all three runners to score.

“You can either step up to the challenge or back down from it, and I’ve never been one to back down from anything,” Underwood said. “So whatever opportunities I get afforded, I expect to do well and I’m going to put my best foot forward and keep moving."

Chris Stratton allowed one run, but otherwise, the Cubs were quieted over the 7 2/3 frames the relievers picked up. That’s a common occurrence. The relievers have been charged with 19 runs over the past nine games, but eight of those came in position player Wilmer Difo’s one inning on Friday in Atlanta. Otherwise, the bullpen has been strong.

“They're keeping us in games and giving us a chance to win,” Newman said. “You can't ask for more than that, and those guys are showing up and doing their job every day, and hopefully we can show up and do ours and turn things around a little bit.”