STANDUP GUY: Not sliding costs Brett Gardner as he is called out on this tag by White Sox catcher Josh Phegley in the third inning of the Yankees’ 3-2 loss last night in Chicago. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
CHICAGO — The return of Alex Rodriguez put a lot of the Yankees’ other problems on the back burner — for one night. They still can’t hit.
A-Rod is back in the lineup on appeal, but the Yankees’ offense remains suspended.
The Yankees were shut down by Chris Sale and the White Sox, 3-2 last night at U.S. Cellular Field, their 13th loss in the last 19 games.
In their second game with Rodriguez, who went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch last night, the Yankees have gone 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Manager Joe Girardi put Rodriguez in the three-hole and batted Robinson Cano, who is engulfed in a slump, in the cleanup spot in the hopes of getting the offense going.
Noted tonight’s starter CC Sabathia of the lineup: “It looks like the Yankees of old. It’s good to have him back.’’
It looked good on paper, but like most things in the Yankees’ world this season, it only looked good on paper.
The quest for world championship No. 28 has completely gone by the boards in the Yankees’ quest to get under $189 million. All of the attention was on A-Rod Monday and not the Yankees’ shortcomings.
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Sure the Yankees have had more than their share of injuries, but they also were caught short talent-wise this winter, losing some valuable pieces.
When Rodrguez was asked, if the club might have gotten itself behind the eight-ball with the lost winter, he smiled and said, “That’s so far out of my jurisdiction, I’ve got enough issues of my own.’’
He sure does, but you can be sure A-Rod watched closely every move the Yankees made.
“I haven’t been around long enough to make a judgment on anything,’’ Rodriguez said. “My only concern is to go out there and be productive and help the team win.’’
This is a new world for A-Rod as he deals with the fallout of his 211-game suspension. The fans cheered after he was hit on the elbow with a pitch in the third, which did not make Girardi happy.
“There’s something wrong with that,’’ Girardi said of the crowd of 23,233 letting A-Rod have it. They also booed every time he came to the plate.
“It starts with the adults,’’ the manager added. “Because the kids are only going to repeat what the kids do.’’
If the Yankees don’t hit, they will continue to struggle.
“Hopefully, offensively things will turn and we will start scoring more runs,’’ Girardi said. “We have to win every day.”
Robinson Cano has one home run over his last 101 at-bats. Over his last 14 games Cano is batting .160 with no home runs. He is the Yankees best hitter and he is in a funk.
“It’s a team situation,’’ Cano said of the Yankees’ lack of run production. “We hit seven, eight hard balls Monday night and had nothing to show for it. I really feel we are going to start doing pretty good now. I feel it. I think we are ready to really start having some success.’’
If nothing else, the return of A-Rod has boosted the Yankees’ spirits but not the offense.
“He came back in and embraced everybody, high-fives, hugs,’’ Curtis Granderson said. “Look where he is the lineup for us. It’s as if he hasn’t skipped a beat, almost as if he had been on a vacation.’’
The Yankees desperately need more power. They went into last night’s game with a .366 slugging percentage, the second-worst mark in baseball behind only the Marlins’ woeful .334 mark.
Perhaps Cano will get more pitches to hit now with A-Rod in the lineup. Sale is one nasty pitcher, and he held the Yankees to one run over
7 1/3 innings, dropping his ERA to 2.83 as he outdueled Hiroki Kuroda. The Yankees have lost two straight to a team that has the second-worst winning percentage in baseball.
They remain in suspended animation..
kevin.kernan@nypost.com