Life’s a pitch: Yankees fall to Red Sox for third straight time

The Yankees hoped to🍸 make a 🌳statement with this series against the Red Sox.

After thr﷽ee games, they will be lucky to survive the wඣeekend.

Bruised and battered, the Yankees 🐽dropped a third straight slugfest to their rivals Saturday, this time 13-9 as their depleted bullpeജn was exposed, wasting another outburst by the lineup.

In case that wasn’t enough,ꦛ Derek Jeter left the game in the sixth because manager Joe Girardi didn’t like the way the shortstop ran to first on a single. The Yankees said a CT scan on the shortstop’s left ankle came back negative, but a second opinion was being sought from Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, who performed surgery on Jeter in October.

Searching for good news wherever he could find it was Girardi, pointing out the Rays have ✱been skidding.

“One thing that has helped is Tampa [Bay] has struggled as well,” Girardi said. 🅘“Up to this point, we haven’t really lost any ground.”

Maybe not to the Rays, but their recent slide has left the Yankees behind the Orioles and Indians in the race for th🅘e secཧond wild card. They still trail the Rays, who lost their third straight, by 2 1/2 games, but they are now 1 1/2 games behind Baltimore and Cleveland.

“It’s three tough games,” the manager said. “We’ve got to turn it around. We are scoring some runs. We’ꦦve got to figure out how to get them out.”

Tired of watching Phil Hughes be ineffective, the Yankees turned to southpaw David Huff,🌠 who had pitched we🏅ll out of the bullpen.

It didn’t work out.

Huff (2-1) was shelled, surrendering nine runs in just 3 ¹/₃ innings. He is scheduled to start again in Hughes’ spot☂ in Baltimore on Thursday. Girardi said he hadn’t made any decisions regarding who would start.

At tওhis point, the Yankees have to hope they’🦩re not buried by then.

“Coming off what I’💮ve been doing and to have that happen [Saturday], is just embarrassing on my part,” said Huff, who had given up just one run over his la🅠st 15 innings in relief.

The Yankees fell behind 12-3 in the fifth before rallying for four runs in the sixth off John Lackey (9-12), who has pitch🐟ed much better this year than his record indicates.

In that inning, the Yankees were fueled by 🙈RBI hits by Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter and Alfonso Soriano, but Curtis Granderson flied out to center with two on to end the threat.

Righty reliever Brett Marshall managed to keep the Yankees in ไthe game and they crept closer in the eighth, with a two-run double by Mark Reynolds that made it 12-꧒9 with no one out.

But Robinson Cano, Alfonso Soriano and🧔 Granderson were then retired consecutively.

“Offensively, we’re putting up a lot of points on the board,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “It’s hard to say th💧at you score [25] runs in three games and lost all three.”

But that’s what happens when you allow at least nine runs three straight games fo💎r the first time in over a decade🍌.

“Obviousౠly, we’re up against a really good team and you can’t afford to make mistakes,” Cashman said.“They’ve been taking advantage of every inch you give them.”

That’s especially true of Mike Napoli, who homered twice, giving 🍰him six 🃏against the Yankees this season.

Jonny Gomes also drilled a three-run shot in the third 🌠and Xander Bogaerts hit his first career homer in th✃e fifth.

“Everyone has asked us, ‘How are yoℱu going to recover?’ ” Girardi said. “And [Thursday] night we lost a tough one and scored eightꦦ runs and the next night we lost a tough one and scored nine runs. We’ve got to swing the bats and pitch.”