Add Hiroki Kuroda to the seemingly never-ending list of high profile Yankees with a physical ailment.
Seven batters into Wednesday night’s game against the Red Sox at a frigid Yankee Stadium, Kuroda foolishly attempted to snag Shane Victorino’s liner up the middle out of the air with the right middle finger.
After being examined by trainer Steve Donohue on the mound, Kuroda remained in the game but clearly was bothered by the incident — hitting the two batters and walking another before being lifted.
Looking to rebound from a dismal loss on Opening Day, the Yankees instead were handed a 7-4 defeat in front of an announced crowd of 40,216 that was closer to half that.
With Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson starting the season on the disabled list, the Yankees believed their starting staff could help them hang in the AL East race until the stars returned.
However, CC Sabathia pitched poorly Monday, and if Kuroda is lost for any amount of time it would be disastrous to an organization very thin in the starting depth department. Kuroda was taken for X-rays and, considering how tests on Granderson and Teixeira went in spring training when a fractured bone and torn sheath tendon were discovered, there was apprehension in the chilly air.
Phil Hughes is slated to start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and would be able to slide into Kuroda’s next scheduled start Monday in Cleveland.
“I have always talked about Hiroki knowing how to pitch,’’ manager Joe Girardi said before Kuroda gave up two runs, four hits, walked one and hit two in 1 1/3 innings.
The Yankees followed Monday’s inept hitting performance with a snooze festival against Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz.
In seven frames Buchholz allowed two runs and six hits. The Yankees were 0-for-4 against Buchholz with runners in scoring position and had one hit in 10 at-bats with runners on base.
Vernon Wells’ third hit, a three-run homer off former Yankee Alfredo Aceves in the eighth, shaved the deficit to 7-4.
Adam Warren, who made the team out of spring training in the event of something like last night, let the two runners he inherited from Cody Eppley to score in the third. However, Warren worked the next five frames and allowed only a run.
An inning earlier, working with the bases loaded, one out and the Red Sox leading, 2-0, after Kuroda came out, Eppley induced a grounder by Dustin Pedroia to shortstop Eduardo Nunez, who turned it into an inning-ending double play.
Eppley wasn’t as fortunate in the third when the Red Sox stretched the lead to 6-0 . Victorino, Jackie Bradley and Jose Iglesias delivered consecutive singles that plated two runs and Jacoby Ellsbury greeted Warren with a two-run single.
The Yankees will try to avoid losing three straight games to start the season for the second consecutive year tonight when Andy Pettitte opposes Ryan Dempster.
A year ago dropping three straight to the Rays didn’t look so daunting because the Yankees were at full strength. That hardly is the case this season.
george.king@nypost.com