Yankees limp into All-Star break as bats struggle again in loss to Cubs

The Yankees stumbled into the All-Star break with a second straight loss to the Cubs, this one 4-1, on Sunday in The Bronx.

They were shut down again by another Chicago lefty, Shota Imanaga, a day after Matthew Boyd dominated them, and the defeat meant the Yankees have lost three of their last four series, despite entering the game having won five of six following a six-game losing streak.

All of that is to say the Yankees finished the first half more or less how they’ve spent much of it: inconsistent.

Or, as Aaron Boone said prior to the game, what he’d thought of his team’s first half: “Incomplete.”

They’re 18-23 since being up by seven games in the AL East on May 28.

On Sunday, they received another solid outing from rookie right-hander Will Warren, who — despite not having his stuff — limited the Cubs’ powerful offense to one run heading into the sixth.

The Yankees, though, were done in by a bad pitch by Ian Hamilton, as the right-hander gave up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Dansby Swanson immediately upon entering the game with one out in the sixth, as well as a lineup that couldn’t figure out Imanaga.

They got a leadoff homer from Giancarlo Stanton in the bottom of the second — and that was pretty much it.

Warren got off to a rough start when he allowed a homer into the Yankees bullpen in right-center on the second pitch of the game to Michael Busch.

The next two batters, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki, also reached before Warren got Pete Crow-Armstrong to line out to left and Carson Kelly’s rocket towards second turned into an inning-ending double play.

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The right-hander also pitched out of a jam in the second.

After the Yankees failed to turn a double play on a hard-hit Nico Hoerner grounder to second, Vidal Brujan singled before Cody Bellinger caught up with a Busch fly ball to the warning track in center.

Stanton tied the game with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the inning, his fourth of the season — all in his last nine games.

Stanton’s blast was the Yankees’ only hit off Imanaga until Austin Wells singled to right to open the bottom of the sixth. Imanaga had retired 11 in a row before Wells reached.

Imanaga gave up just the two hits and a run in seven innings.

Warren finished strong and left with one out in the sixth, with Kelly at third after a leadoff double.

But Hamilton, who’d pitched well in his previous dozen appearances, gave up the two-run homer to left to Swanson.

And some shaky defense cost the Yankees in the seventh.

Tim Hill struck out the first two batters he faced, but Suzuki doubled to right-center and Crow-Armstrong sent a hard-hit grounder up the middle. Anthony Volpe snagged the ball and fired to first, but not in time to get the speedy Crow-Armstrong, while Suzuki raced home from second, just beating Paul Goldschmidt’s throw from first to make it 4-1.

More sloppy defense could have hurt them in the eighth, when Volpe was slow to get the ball to Chisholm on a force at second and Swanson beat the throw, but Luke Weaver escaped the inning without any damage.