The Yankees cut bait with hitting coach Dillon Lawson after Sunday’s latest defeat, as the first repercussion of the feeble hitting throughout the first half that has sent the Yankees limping into the All-Star break.

But their fourth loss in five games — leaving them one game outside of a wild-card position in the American League standings — was more about porous defense and uncharacteristically shoddy relief work.

The Yanks will reconvene for the first of their final 71 games on Friday in Colorado after getting the next four days off, with a new hitting coach and still in search of some semblance of consistency following a rare bullpen meltdown in Sunday’s ugly 7-4 loss to the Cubs in steam-bath conditions at the Stadium.

“Not good. I don’t think we’ve played really good baseball, me either,” said second baseman Gleyber Torres, who booted a potential double-play grounder for a key error in the Cubs’ three-run seventh inning. “We have to reset mentality-wise, try to figure out how we can play better and come out strong in the second half.”

Domingo German wasn’t flawless, but Seiya Suzuki’s solo home run in the fifth was the only hit allowed by the perfect-game author over six-plus innings.

Anthony Volpe and Kyle Higashioka accounted for a 4-1 cushion with back-to-back homers in the sixth.

But German was pulled by Aaron Boone — leaving to a standing ovation — after throwing only 74 pitches following a leadoff walk to Ian Happ in the seventh.

It was a decision the manager admitted was “understandable” to question.

“I just felt like it was time, and we were lined up there [in the bullpen],” Boone added.

The Yanks’ usually dependable pen — which began the day with a league-leading 3.06 ERA this season — couldn’t close out the three-run advantage.

Four relievers combined to allow six runs to cross the plate over the final three innings, although three were unearned in the seventh due to the error by Torres.

Thus, the Yanks hit the break with a record of 49-42, a game behind the Blue Jays and the Astros for the second and third AL wild-card spots, and with reigning MVP Aaron Judge still on the injured list after missing the past five weeks with a big-toe injury.

Starting pitchers Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino and lineup regulars Harrison Bader, Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson also were among those to have spent significant time on the shelf, with the latter two mostly struggling offensively since returning.

“Not all the way where we want to be yet,” Boone said after the game, but more than an hour before the Lawson firing was announced. “As I just told the group, these guys are competing their butts off, and that’s been evident from Day 1. And we’ve faced a lot of adversity so far.

“We’ve obviously been pretty banged up … but what I love is we’re walking into the second half with everything in front of us. As Reggie [Jackson] would always say, we hold the pen. … It’s certainly not been exactly how we wanted the first half to go, but we’re in position to do something special and reach all our goals.”

The Yanks had opened the scoring in the first against Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks on Anthony Rizzo’s double to right-center.

In his second start since his perfecto in Oakland on June 28, German faced the minimum 12 batters through four innings before Suzuki opened the fifth by driving a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for a 1-1 game.

Volpe’s 13th homer of his rookie season, a two-run shot to left, and Higashioka’s fifth chased Hendricks with two outs in the sixth.

After Ian Hamilton replaced German in the seventh, Torres’ miscue kept the inning alive before pinch-hitter Yan Gomes’ two-run single off Tommy Kahnle with two outs made it a 4-4 game.

“I made a mistake and it cost us the game,” Torres said.

Ron Marinaccio loaded the bases with none out in the eighth on a single by ex-Yankee Mike Tauchman and two walks.

Suzuki lifted a sacrifice fly to right against Clay Holmes, whose subsequent wild pitch with Cody Bellinger batting brought home another run.

The Cubs added one more in the ninth against Nick Ramirez for a 7-4 lead.

“We’re going to continue to get real significant pieces back … and with all the adversity we’ve faced, we’re right there,” Boone said. “A lot of teams aren’t in that position. We are. Even though it’s been a grind and a struggle at times, we also know we’re really good and have a chance to have a special team … and that’s what we’re focusing on.”