DJ LeMahieu’s Yankees struggles continue after three-day ‘reset’

D.J. LeMahieu’s first game following a three-day ”reset” looked a lot like the string of games preceding it.

As the Yankees skidded to an embarrassing 10-2 loss to the Mariners on Thursday night, LeMahieu finished 0-for-4, including a messy third-inning strikeout on which he twice dropped to his back knee while swinging and missing, then hurled his helmet into the dugout on his way back to the bench.

His last swing of the night was another whiff as he got way out in front of Chris Flexen’s 0-2 changeup in the eighth.

“I think he’s fine,” manager Aaron Boone said following the loss. “I think he’s trying to get that back hip a little bit, get that leg. When you see him at his best, that back knee kind of bends and he gets behind the ball like that. So I think he’s trying to emphasize that a little bit.”

The former batting champ is mired in a 7-for-48 slump over his last 13 games, dating to May 30 — a span over which things got bad enough for the Yankees to give him a few days off this week to work on his swing.

Unlike the second half of last season, when his lack of production could be attributed to a fractured foot, LeMahieu is not dealing with any known injury, though he did recently cite “bad habits” he picked up while compensating for the issue last season.

LeMahieu did not speak to reporters after the game, but Boone said he believes the infielder is healthy.

The situation is worse for the Yankees given how the rest of the lineup is hitting.

On Thursday, it took until the sixth inning — with the Yankees already trailing 10-0 — for Gleyber Torres to record their first hit of the game.

LeMahieu is carrying a park-adjusted OPS well below league average, a strikeout rate more than double his 2022 mark and a walk rate down over 5 percent compared to last season.

Whatever adjustments LeMahieu made during his layoff can’t be judged off one game, but he struggled all night at the plate. Aside from the pair of strikeouts, LeMahieu weakly fouled out on the third pitch he faced and grounded to third in the sixth. Of 16 pitches to LeMahieu, he took five called strikes and just two balls.

His frustration gave way to anger with the helmet toss.

“You go through some struggles for an extended period, guys are pissed off,” Boone said. “Am I worried? No. He’s as tough as they come mentally, physically. We’ve gotta just continue to work alongside him and try to unlock him.”