James Paxton will start Wednesday against the Padres. It will be his first outing since May 3 because of an inflamed left knee that landed him on the IL and had him wearing a brace Tuesday.

“It’s always hard to be hurt, it’s no fun’’ said Paxton, who has been on the shelf eight times since 2014. “I am excited to help keep doing what we have done while I have been out.’’

Paxton threw 60 pitches in a minor league start Friday and said he figures he will be good to throw 70-75 pitches in Wednesday’s start.

“Try to go as deep as I can with that pitch count,’’ said Paxton, who is 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA in seven starts.

Boone said there wasn’t a hard pitch count on Paxton, but explained it won’t approach the century mark.

“We will have an idea but will it be hard and fast? Not necessarily,’’ manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Padres on Tuesday night. “Certainly not nearing a 100, but whether that is 70 or 80 I don’t know. We will kind of feel our way through.’’

Reliever Joseph Harvey was optioned after Tuesday’s game to make room for Paxton.

According to the YES Network’s James Smyth, Gary Sanchez’s 17 homers in 37 games ties Mickey Mantle (1956) for the most by a Yankee in his first 37 games of the season.

“It’s an honor for me to get to records like that and have my name associated with those guys. But I’m trying to keep things simple,’’ said Sanchez, whose fourth-inning homer was measured at 436 feet by Statcast.

CC Sabathia went through a bullpen session and is scheduled to come off the IL on Sunday night to face the Red Sox at the Stadium.

Sabathia, 3-1 with a 3.48 ERA in eight starts, has been on the IL since Thursday with an inflamed right knee that was treated with a cortisone injection.

Sabathia said the knee was a problem in Baltimore last Wednesday, when he gave up five runs (four earned) and six hits in five innings, but was the winner.

Didi Gregorius’ first minor league rehab assignment game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was postponed by weather Tuesday night, so the shortstop will have to wait until Wednesday. Gregorius, who opened the season on the IL after having Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last fall, was 2-for-7 with a homer and an RBI in two rehab games for Single-A Tampa.

Gio Urshela was not in the lineup, but Boone said it was to keep the third baseman fresh. Boone started DJ LeMahieu at third and Thairo Estrada at second. Urshela singled to start the ninth as a pinch hitter for Estrada.

— additional reporting by Zach Braziller