Yankees’ mess of a day gets worse with rain-shortened loss

What a mess.

On a rainy Friday night in The Bronx, the Yankees dropped their fourth straight game — but unlike when they were swept in Houston by the powerful Astros, this time they lost to a dismal White Sox team that entered mired in a five-game losing streak.

This one was a rain-shortened 9-6 defeat that was called after a 41-minute delay in the top of the seventh, and it left general manager Brian Cashman and starter J.A. Happ searching for answers.

“We all just try to do our part, and I didn’t do my part tonight,’’ said Happ, who was unable to get out of the fifth inning for a third consecutive start. “I came in with the mentality that, ‘I’m gonna stop it and get us going,’ and I didn’t.”

Instead, the lefty gave up six runs in four-plus innings after being handed a 4-1 lead in the second inning.

Jonathan Holder and Chad Green combined to give up three homers out of the bullpen, as that unit continues to struggle.

On top of all that, the Yankees’ injured list grew to 12 when Gary Sanchez was placed on the IL with a left calf strain and Dellin Betances was ruled out even longer with what now is being called a bone spur in his right shoulder.

“The alternatives are stepping in and trying to compete, and there’s frustration there because we’re not getting competitive play from the healthy guys at the same time,’’ Cashman said during a midgame press conference. “It’s a double-edged sword that we’re dealing with.”

Happ is near the top of that list. He has allowed five homers in just 12 ¹/₃ innings and has an 8.76 ERA. Aaron Boone was asked whether he considered pulling Happ earlier with the weather worsening in order to have a better chance of keeping the lead through the fifth, but the manager said he couldn’t afford to press the bullpen any more than he already has.

“You run those guys [from the pen] into the ground if you’re constantly going to the whip in the fourth and fifth inning, which we’ve had to do little more than we’d like to this point,’’ Boone said. “J.A., with a lead there, just wasn’t able to get it done.”

That has been a familiar refrain so far this season. The Yankees are just 5-8 despite having a lead at some point in all but one of their 13 games.

“We should have had that game and I let it slip away,’’ Happ said. “I’ve got to find a way to get better results, no doubt about it.”

So does Holder, who gave up a go-ahead two-run homer to Eloy Jimenez immediately upon entering the game in the top of the fifth. It was the first of Jimenez’s two homers on the night.

The poor pitching wiped out a solid showing from the offense, which provided the early lead thanks in part to DJ LeMahieu’s two-run single in the first. He reached base in all three of his plate appearances.

The Yankees scored twice more in the second on an Austin Romine RBI single and a sacrifice fly from Aaron Judge.

And after falling behind 7-5 in the fifth, the Yankees had a chance to tie the game an inning later.

Gio Urshela’s run-scoring single made it 7-6 with two on and no one out, but the Yankees failed to take advantage, as Luke Voit whiffed with the bases loaded to end the threat.

“Right now, we’re not putting our best foot forward,’’ Cashman said. “[The season] can get away from you if you’re not careful. … We have to start climbing that small mountain we’ve put in front of us. I’ve got confidence in all the people we have, but I also know this game can humble you quick.’’

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