CHICAGO — Brian Cashman says the Yankees are digging themselves a hole.
The general manager technically is correct because the dig is in progress. Yet, it can’t be called a hole any longer. The shovels have created a ditch the Yankees will not escape from.
Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the lowly White Sox in front of 23,826 at U.S. Cellular Field didn’t eliminate the Yankees from the AL East race or the wild card chase. But it was the latest loss that have the Yankees experiencing death by paper cuts.
A lineup that was supposed to be bolstered by Alex Rodriguez’s return continued to sputter and wasted Hiroki Kuroda’s solid effort of seven innings and three runs.
Rodriguez went 1-for-2, walked and was hit by a pitch — and was in the on-deck circle when Alfonso Soriano struck out with the tying run on first after the Yankees had cut the lead to one with a run in the ninth.
The loss was the Yankees’ 14th in 20 games and left them 5 ¹/₂ games behind the Rangers for the second wild card — also behind the Indians, Orioles and Royals — pending the outcome of the Rangers’ game last night.
“We’re digging ourselves a hole — no doubt about it. It’s not something that we want. Hopefully tonight we can start digging ourselves out of that hole. It’s a pretty obvious circumstance now,’’ Cashman said before the game. “We have to win games. We have to play better baseball and win with what we have. This has been a terrible road trip.’’
Which got worse Tuesday night. After splitting two games against the red-hot Dodgers in Los Angeles, the Yankees dropped two of three against the lowly Padres. Now, the best the Yankees can do against the White Sox, who had lost 10 straight going into Monday night’s 8-1 victory, is salvage one win in a three-game series tonight when they turn to the struggling CC Sabathia.
“We have not played well the last six to eight weeks. It has kind of been up and down. We need to start winning games or we are not going to be playing in October,’’ manager Joe Girardi said. “There is some concern. We have to be more consistent as a club and that’s offensively, defensively and pitching. If we don’t, it’s going to be difficult.’’
It was hard to watch the Yankees’ lineup, which accumulated five hits and a run against Chris Sale (7-11). Sale pitched into the eighth and won for the first time since July 11.
Alejandro De Aza’s two-out double to right scored Gordon Beckham from second in the seventh and stretched the White Sox lead to 3-1.
Kuroda came within a step of getting out of the sixth without giving up the run that put the Yankees in a 2-1 hole.
Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios started the frame with singles and Rios was forced at second on a grounder to the right side. With runners at the corners, Paul Konerko hit a grounder behind third base that Jayson Nix fielded and threw to second where Robinson Cano’s pivot toss to first was late by a step as Ramirez scored to give the White Sox a 2-1 lead.
The only time Rodriguez made out, he hit the ball hard in the fifth. Austin Romine led off with a single and moved to second when Alfonso Soriano singled. Rodriguez hit Sale’s first pitch on a line to center for the second out in front of Robinson Cano walking to load the bases.
Vernon Wells left three on when he grounded the first pitch to the right side for the final out.
Adam Dunn’s one-out single in the fourth led to the White Sox tying the score, 1-1.
Kuroda wild-pitched the heavy-legged Dunn to second and after Paul Konerko flied to center, Conor Gillaspie’s single to right scored Konerko. Gillaspie took second on Wells’ throw home but was stranded there when Soriano robbed Gordon Beckham of a hit with a diving catch in left.
The Yankees scored a run in the first without a base hit when Soriano raced home from second on a wild pitch.
Gardner’s one-out walk and Rodriguez getting hit with two outs provided the Yankees with a scoring threat in the third that was erased by left fielder De Aza.
Cano’s opposite-field single to left sent Gardner around third and toward the plate, but De Aza’s throw to Josh Phegley was ruled in time by plate umpire Alan Porter, who was bumped by Gardner who didn’t slide.
george.king@nypost.com