Yankees’ anemic offense struggles again in loss to Reds

Carlos Rodon’s few mistakes were hammered.

His club’s offensive mistakes were plentiful.

This version of the Yankees — with a star-studded top of the lineup but Muggsy Bogues length — does not have much room for error, so flawed games become losses.

Wednesday’s effort was flawed, so the Yankees lost, 3-2, to the Reds in The Bronx in front of 47,646 frustrated fans.

A righty-heavy Yankees lineup was five-hit by lefty Andrew Abbott and four Cincinnati relievers.

They clawed back into the game with a two-run double by Anthony Volpe in the seventh inning, but that would conclude the club’s scoring.

The Yankees put the tying run on base in the ninth against Alexis Diaz, the brother of Mets closer Edwin, as Austin Wells worked an entertaining, 10-pitch walk.

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But Volpe grounded into a double play before Juan Soto flew out, ending the game with Aaron Judge in the on-deck circle.

Even before Thursday’s finale with Cincinnati, the Yankees (54-34) have clinched another losing series and have failed to win six straight series while dropping 12 of 16 games overall.

No team will win many games when scoring two runs. They had several legitimate chances for more on a night they left nine on base.

“I think we struggled a little bit … to get the clutch hit,” said Soto, who watched Trent Grisham strike out with runners on in the eighth; watched Judge crush a grounder that became an inning-ending double play in the seventh; and watched J.D. Davis strand a pair with a broken-bat ground out up the middle to end the third. “It happens. It’s baseball. We hit the ball hard, couldn’t find the gap.”

With a flawed attack, the Yankees needed a flawless pitcher.

As has been the case recently, they didn’t get one.

A Yankees starting pitcher has not lasted six or more innings in a week and a half, since Nestor Cortes tossed seven in a loss to the Braves on June 23, though Rodon fought for the chance to survive the sixth inning.

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A weird night for the lefty ended with manager Aaron Boone approaching the mound with one out and a runner on first in the sixth.

Rodon had just walked Jeimer Candelario on his 95th pitch of the night, and righty cleanup hitter Spencer Steer was coming up to bat.

Rodon could be seen mouthing, “No way,” as Boone walked to the mound, then gave the ball to his manager and appeared unhappy walking to the dugout.

Boone said he was “convicted” in the decision in part because he trusted Michael Tonkin against a sea of righties and in part because he wanted Rodon — who had let up 21 runs in 13 ²/₃ innings in three starts entering play — to finish on a positive note.

“I didn’t want to get him in a bad spot at the end of the night where a mistake could have hurt him,” said Boone, whose move worked as Tonkin escaped unscathed.

Rodon said he understood the decision and was not angry, just competitive.

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The lefty exited having allowed three runs on just three hits and two walks in those 5 ¹/₃ innings.

He pitched backwards often — laying off a four-seam fastball that he threw just 26 percent of the time — and was burned by a few misplaced offerings.

The Reds struck first in the second inning, when Tyler Stephenson singled before Noelvi Marte jumped on a 92.8 mph four-seamer that got too much of the plate for a two-run shot to left.

Rodon settled in until the fifth inning, when Stuart Fairchild sent a full-count, middle-of-the-plate slider over the left-field wall for a home run.

“Some pitches I’d like to have back,” said Rodon, whose ERA rose to 4.45.

Tonkin, Kahnle and Clay Holmes combined for 3 ²/₃ scoreless, hitless innings that gave the Yankees’ offense a chance that it would not take advantage of.

On a night that the Yankees’ hardest-hit ball became Judge’s double play in the seventh, bad luck played a factor. But so did a struggling offense.

“We got to make our own [luck], too,” Boone said. “Abbott pitched a heck of a game and kept us at bay.”

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