MLB

Hughes, Yankees pounded by Red Sox

With muscles as soft as yogurt swinging wet newspapers, the Yankees can’t afford to be escorted into an early ditch by a starting pitcher.

With an assist from manager Joe Girardi, Phil Hughes did that Saturday night when the Red Sox put an 11-1 beating on the fading Yankees in front of a sold-out Yankee Stadium crowd of 48,784.

Having scored 19 runs in the last eight games is it any wonder the Yankees are 2-6 across that stretch?

By the third inning Saturday night the listless lineup was toast thanks to a five-run Red Sox rally highlighted by Mike Napoli’s grand slam off Hughes that lowered the Yankees, who have dropped six of seven, into a deep grave.

“We got whipped up tonight pretty bad,’’ Brett Gardner said. “It was not a good game.’’

Held to six singles by four Red Sox pitchers, three Yankees hurlers gave up a season-high 18 hits and three homers.

None of the long balls were more costly than Napoli’s slam in the third that turned a 1-0 lead into a 5-0 bulge and essentially sealed the game even though it was only the third inning.

You can argue Girardi shouldn’t have walked David Ortiz intentionally to load the bases so early after Hughes caught Ortiz looking in the first. And though Ortiz was 9-for-21 off Hughes at the moment, Napoli was 4-for-8 versus the right-hander. If you believe Girardi didn’t show enough confidence in Hughes, sleep well.

Still, a big chunk of the latest loss rests on Hughes’ broad shoulders because he was the one who missed with a 2-2 fastball to Napoli.

“I wanted it more down and away and it caught too much of the plate,’’ Hughes said of the killer pitch that dropped his record to 2-4 and inflated the ERA to 5.37.

In 4 ¹/₃ innings Hughes allowed five runs and seven hits. His inconsistencies combined with that he will likely receive a long-term deal worth more per year than the $7.15 million he makes this year have Hughes in the final four months of a Yankees career that has consisted of too many peaks and valleys.

And it’s not out of the question if the Yankees are sellers before the July 31 trade deadline, they could dangle Hughes, who will be 27 later this month.

Red Sox starter Felix Doubront’s taste of success against the Yankees continued despite the Yankees getting chances against the lefty in the first four frames. They had eight baserunners in the opening four innings, but only scored once in the fourth on Chris Stewart’s sacrifice fly.

Though the Red Sox didn’t score in the fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh innings, the Yankees never had a chance to cut into the 5-1 deficit because they didn’t put a runner in scoring position after the fourth. And three runs in the eighth when Daniel Nava hit a three-run homer and three more in the ninth when Stephen Drew went deep put the game out of reach.

Doubront improved to 2-1 with a 2.52 ERA in nine games (five starts) against the Yankees and is 4-2 overall this year.

Napoli didn’t say watching Girardi walk Ortiz provided additional motivation to make the Yankees’ manager pay for the strategy. It’s more about serving as a guardian for Ortiz.

“I like protecting him and maybe giving the manager another thought of doing that,’’ Napoli said.

george.king@nypost.com