Part-timer A-Rod still slumping

How long before Alex Rodriguez is sitting against southpaws, too?

Following back-to-back days on the bench because of consecutive matchups against righthanded starting pitchers, the $20 million part-time designated hitter went 0-for-3 with a meaningless sacrifice fly in his return to the lineup Tuesday night in The Bronx, striking out twice in the Yankees’ 7-1 loss to the Rangers.

Rodriguez entered the game batting .275 against lefties this season with a .837 OPS — he is hitting .200 with a .584 OPS against righties — but the soon-to-be 41-year-old watched his average against southpaws slide to .259 after an underwhelming evening against Texas’ Cole Hamels.

Still, the work ethic of the three-time MVP makes manager Joe Girardi believe Rodriguez can remain an offensive threat.

“He’s trying,” Girardi said. “If you could have [seen] him working [Tuesday morning], you’d have a better understanding as a manager what guys are trying to do. He was in the cage [at] 12 [a.m.], 1 [a.m.].

“I know he’s frustrated. We want him to produce, [but] I’m not discouraged.”

Rodriguez attempted to get off to a fast start, swinging on the first pitch of his first at-bat, but flied out to right field. In his next two appearances at the plate, Rodriguez looked increasingly helpless against Hamels, taking a third strike looking on a fastball over the middle in the third inning before going down swinging in the fifth.

Against lefty reliever Jake Diekman in the eighth inning, Rodriguez, now batting .219 this season, was credited with an RBI on a sacrifice fly, cutting the Rangers lead to 7-1.

Before to the game, Girardi said he believed Rodriguez’s health is not an issue.

“[From] everything that I watch, he is [healthy],” Girardi said. “He’s had no treatment. [There’s] nothing that tells me that he’s hurt. He hasn’t complained about anything.”