Nestor Cortes allows three HRs in Yankees' 15-2 debacle in Texas

 ARLINGTON, Texas — The Yankees are leaking oil.

And to quote the great NFL coach/philosopher Rich Kotite, who declared early in a 3-13 1995 Jets campaign about how to right things: "There isn't a cookbook answer.”

The banged-up Yankees completed a miserable seven-game road trip with a 15-2 dumpster fire of a loss to the Rangers on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Field. It was a game in which they neither pitched nor hit, with both elements of the game looking equally feeble.

Yankees pitchers allowed four home runs, with Nestor Cortes giving up three, including a grand slam by Josh Jung in the first inning. The Rangers hit three homers in a four-run fifth inning that turned their 4-1 lead into an 8-1 laugher, and the high comedy continued with a six-run sixth in which they sent 10 to the plate.

“After today, it definitely feels pretty terrible,”  catcher Kyle Higashioka said in summation of an April that ended with the Yankees tied for last place in the AL East, eight games behind the Rays. “It’s something we’ve got to work through. There’s no excuses over here. We’ve just got to put in the work and trust we’re going to find a way.”

Again missing Aaron Judge, out since being removed from Thursday’s game with a right hip strain, the Yankees did little at the plate, though that had been the case many nights of late even with the reigning American League MVP in the lineup.

The Yankees (15-14) have scored three or fewer runs in 13 of their last 17 games. In those 13 games, they scored 24 runs and went 3-10.

They have lost six of their last eight games after going 2-5 on this trip, which started with losing two of three to the Twins, the Yankees' first series loss to them since 2001.

“It’s early, [but] obviously, we’re not playing the baseball we want to play right now,” said Cortes, who fell to 3-2, 4.91 after allowing seven runs (matching a career worst), five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. “We’re not producing and guys are banged up. I think on both sides of the ball, hitting and pitching, apart from Gerrit [Cole], we have to do a better job.”

The Rangers, a vastly different outfit under manager Bruce Bochy than they have been in recent years, are 17-11.

Perhaps the Yankees can get going against the skidding Guardians (13-15) in a  three-game series at the Stadium that begins Monday night. That, however, is far from certain. The Guardians likely see the series as presenting them the same opportunity.

“I’m not allowed to be concerned right now. We’ve got the Guardians tomorrow,” Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to get prepared, prepare what we have right now, try to continue to get guys back in the mix . . . but in the meantime, we have to find a way right now to generate a little bit of offense and put ourselves in a position to win.”

That possibility was eliminated fairly early Sunday when Cortes, who felt he had little fastball command, loaded the bases with one out and gave up Jung’s grand slam on a 2-and-2 slider.

The Yankees got one back in the third on Oswald Peraza’s RBI groundout, which made it 4-1. DJ LeMahieu was thrown out at the plate by rightfielder Adolis Garcia to end the fourth, keeping the Yankees from cutting into the deficit further.

Nate Lowe hit a two-run homer off Cortes in the fifth and Garcia made it back-to-back shots for a  7-1 lead. Albert Abreu came in with two outs and surrendered a home run by  Jonah Heim. At that point, MLB’s version of extensive garbage time had commenced.

“Tough trip. Tough league,” Boone said. “Adversity’s coming for us, we know it, and we’ll get through it. But no one’s going to feel sorry for us, what we’re going through. We have to find a way right now.”