Shortly before first pitch Monday night, the Yankees were dealt a crushing loss, forced to move Aaron Judge to the injured list. 

A few hours later, a different kind of crushing loss arose. 

Manager Aaron Boone pulled a cruising Domingo German in the ninth inning and watched the bullpen melt down during a backbreaking, 3-2 defeat to the Guardians in front of 33,414 stunned fans in The Bronx. 

The Yankees (15-15) are .500, have lost four straight games for the first time all season and will not see Judge, out with a strained right hip, for at least another six days.

The offense is scuffling, the back end of the bullpen is a concern and Boone’s late-game decisions will be analyzed. 

They closed April with a 15-2 beatdown in Texas and opened May with a lost slugger and a dashed morale. 

“It’s been tough,” catcher Jose Trevino acknowledged, before adding: “I know each and every one of us believe in each other. And at some point, this thing is going to turn around.” 

The Yankees rolled into the ninth inning up 2-0 behind German, who allowed a single to Steven Kwan on his 88th pitch with one out.

It was the second hit German had surrendered while bidding for a shutout, and he had not allowed a base runner to reach second. 

But Boone, concerned about No. 2 hitter Amed Rosario due up in the fourth time through the order, pulled German and watched as Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta ruined a masterpiece. 

Holmes failed to cleanly backhand Rosario’s soft tapper, which went for an error, and Jose Ramirez singled to load the bases with one out. 

Holmes got the ground ball he was looking for from Josh Naylor — but it found a hole in the right side. The ball shot past second baseman Oswald Peraza to drive in two to tie the game. 

“Bottom line: I need to be better,” said Holmes, who has not resembled the shutdown closer he was in last year’s first half. “It’s a situation there where [I] just need to get a ground ball and make a pitch. Just didn’t get the job done.” 

In came Peralta, who walked Josh Bell to load the bases.

The lefty struck out Andres Gimenez for the second out before walking Mike Zunino to let in the go-ahead run. 

German did not question the quick hook and said he “will never disagree” with the manager, but he did admit he still felt strong after 8 ¹/₃ innings in which he allowed two hits with one walk, struck out six and was charged with one run that scored after he left. 

“Obviously, it didn’t work, so ultimately that falls on me,” said Boone, who added he has no hesitation in turning to Holmes in high-leverage situations. 

Holmes, who has four saves, picked up his second blown save after facing three batters and recording zero outs. 

His command has lagged, with five walks in 9 ²/₃ innings, and stuff that once consistently induced weak contact has been hit harder. 

“Just that next level of command,” Boone said about what has been missing from Holmes’ game. “That’s it because it’s all in there.” 

The Yankees went quietly in the ninth against Emmanuel Clase — punctuated by an Aaron Hicks strikeout that prompted boos to rain down — in perhaps the worst loss of the season. 

The Yankees, who have scored six runs in four games, only engineered offense in the third inning.

Against Cleveland’s Cal Quantrill, Trevino rocketed his third home run of the season into the left-field seats.

A two-out rally in which Anthony Rizzo walked, Gleyber Torres dropped a single into right-center and DJ LeMahieu drove a single into left-center added another run, which appeared plenty for German. 

Rosario, the second batter of the game, singled and would be left at first base.

German then set down the next 11 Guardians in order before a fifth-inning walk to Bell, who also was stranded at first. After the walk, German retired 13 batters straight. 

He was excellent and efficient. Michael King warmed up in the sixth inning, but German retired the side on six pitches.

Peralta started throwing in the bullpen in the seventh inning, but seven pitches later, German had retired the side in order again. 

The only one who could slow German was Boone, who pulled his starter and watched the game get away.