OAKLAND, Calif. -- Wednesday was another installment in what has been a miserable offensive stretch for the Pirates, being shutout by Ross Stripling and the Athletics to complete being swept, this time by a 4-0 final at the Oakland Coliseum.

After starting the season 11-5, the offense has scored just 31 runs during this 3-13 stretch, which included plating just nine runs over this six-game road trip where they won only once.

“It’s polar opposite offenses, the first two weeks versus the last two weeks,” said hitting coach Andy Haines before the game.

Haines spoke candidly with MLB.com about the team’s struggles of late and trying to keep the group from getting frustrated with themselves. After a hot start to the season, there is urgency to try to reverse the trend.

“We need to score to take advantage of the elite starting pitching we’ve gotten,” Haines said. “That’s why our record’s ended up where it’s at.”

How do they reverse this slump? Haines offered some insight into what the approach and messaging is right now.

Three common criticisms of this offense right now center around them not driving home runners in scoring position, the young players not producing enough and the hitters not being aggressive enough. All those points have at least some merit, and the first was very apparent this road trip.

In the six games this trip, the Pirates went just 2-for-36 with runners in scoring position, which included an 0-for-6 mark Wednesday. Bryan Reynolds had a chance with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, representing the go-ahead run, but struck out swinging. Jared Triolo had a chance with two outs representing the tying run the following frame, but flew out to left.

Hitting with runners in scoring position is a tough spot to evaluate. Eventually, creating more opportunities should result in more runs. But it doesn’t mean they can be passive.

“We have to cash in on those opportunities if we want to win,” Haines said. “There’s no prize for just getting ‘em out there and saying, ‘good job.’ This is dog eat dog.”

Getting more production from young players would certainly lead to more opportunities, or cashing in on said chances. Oneil Cruz is coming back from his ankle injury, but is hitting just .239 with a .630 OPS. Henry Davis has a .486 OPS, and Triolo a .552.

The jump between Major and Minor League talent has never been greater. Hitters across the league -- including the game’s top prospect Jackson Holliday -- can struggle to adjust. That’s not a full excuse, though, and individual work is being done.

“It’s the definition of a numbers game and staying the course through to a process you know can have success over time,” Haines said. “Also, [you] have to see things clearly and fight like crazy to make adjustments all the time. You don’t want to overassess and overcorrect, and you don’t want to sit on your hands either and say, ‘Hey, it’s all going to work out.’ Nothing’s automatic, man. We’ve got to make it happen.”

Being aggressive and making things happen. That’s perhaps the most common complaint levied against this group of late, with the public notion being that hitters are being told to be patient and see pitches.

“That’s not accurate,” Haines said. “That’s never messaged that way. We never practiced that way.”

When asked if he wants more aggressiveness from his hitters, Haines answered, “I want to see more of it, for sure.” He’s said that to his hitters, too. He still wants smart at-bats. Haines referred to an old coach who told him home plate is baseball’s version of the line of scrimmage. If they can control that, they can control the at-bat.

“We’re trying to dominate the strike zone,” Haines said. “We’re never trying to take a pitch over the heart of the strike zone. … We’re trying to hammer the stuff over the middle of the plate and take the best swing at it.”

At some point, the offense will have to pick up. Perhaps it will take a lineup shakeup, someone like Reynolds, Cruz or Ke’Bryan Hayes heating up or promoting a hot Minor League hitter like Nick Gonzales to get things going.

But there’s still faith that even amid this stretch, there is hope.

“We have not had a hot streak offensively,” Haines said. “We will. I believe in the work they’re doing. I believe in the evaluation of those players. It’s our job to make this [slump] we’re in shorter.”