Paging Matt Garza, please report to The Bronx.
The Yankees were on autopilot before CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte went down with injuries. Quickly, though, this has become the Summer of Challenges.
Young Adam Warren was trotted out to make his major-league debut last night at Yankee Stadium and the White Sox put on a pre-4th of July fireworks show, lighting up the Yankees, even though Warren was staked to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Chicago beat up manager Joe Girardi’s club 14-7 before 44,265 overheated fans.
The pathetic pitching night ended for the Yankees with outfielder Dewayne Wise on the mound. This time he had the ball and got two outs. You have to go back 44 years to find the last time a position player, Gene Michael, pitched for the Yankees at home.
Yes, the summer heat is just beginning.
Yankees fans are not a patient group to begin with and Warren, 24, was not able to get out of the third inning, surrendering six runs, including two home runs, one to A.J. Pierzynski and another to Paul Konerko.
The Yankees are trying to fill their pitching holes from within but at some point general manager Brian Cashman is going to have to call his good friend Theo Epstein and convince the Cubs general manager to send Garza his way. The question will be: Do the Yankees have enough talent to land Garza, who has gone 1-5 over his last nine starts for a dreadful Cubs team. If not Garza, another veteran pitcher will do because there doesn’t seem to be any answers on the Yankees farm.
The recent pitching woes mean the overwhelming advantage the Yankees had in the AL East suddenly has been whittled down. The Red Sox are just six games back and coming fast.
Girardi’s margin of error also has shrunk, and in Thursday night’s 4-3 loss to the White Sox, he did too much mixing and matching and paid the price as the White Sox got a three-run home run in the ninth from Dayan Viciedo off David Robertson, who doesn’t have his fastball back yet.
One of Girardi’s strengths is that he is protective of his players, but sometimes he can be too protective. It was easier for Girardi when he had the likes of Sabathia, Pettitte and Mariano Rivera to lean on to get the job done. As for Warren, it was a night to forget.
“I’m going to learn from this and move on,’’ said a shell-shocked Warren.
It is so difficult for a young pitcher to break in with the Yankees, especially at the home-run haven that is Yankees Stadium. Phil Hughes knew the challenge Warren faced. He made his major league debut as the starter in a 6-0 loss to the Blue Jays in 2007.
“There are different challenges here, that’s for sure,’’ Hughes told The Post before the game. “There are guys, Jeremy Bonderman, comes to mind, where the Tigers said, ‘you’re going to be in our rotation no matter what.’’
Bonderman went 6-19 his rookie season.
“That’s not going to happen here,’’ Hughes said. “You don’t have that luxury here. It’s kind of like finding that happy medium between growing and developing and, at the same time, pitching well enough where the fans aren’t grumbling at the GM and the manager. It’s different. It’s expensive to go out and sign free-agent pitchers. It’s hasn’t exactly been the smoothest ride for me, but I’ve done enough to stick around.’’
Nothing seems to be going smoothly these days for the Yankees, who have surrendered at least 10 runs twice over the last nine games.
“I wasn’t expecting Wednesday to happen,’’ Girardi said, referring to the day Sabathia revealed his groin injury and Pettitte suffered a fractured fibula.
Injuries happen, but if the solution is not to be found from within from young Dellin Betances or Manny Banuelos, the Yankees have to go outside the organization. Sabathia should be back quickly, but you never know, and Pettitte is out for at least two months and then will have to build up his arm again.
At least Garza, 28, is under control for next season, and he has AL East experience. He was 34-31 with the Rays from 2008 to 2010.
Welcome to the Yankees Summer of Challenges.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com