Braves 5

Yankees 2

The smoke reeks and the mirrors have developed cavernous cracks.

After using smoke and mirrors to make up for losing Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, the Yankees lost Robinson Cano yesterday and nobody knows when he will return from a hamstring problem.

While GM Brian Cashman scours the baseball universe looking for starting pitching, it could be time to turn his attention to finding a bat to help a frigid lineup that was responsible for last night’s 5-1 loss to the putrid Braves in front of 53,763 at Yankee Stadium.

Matsui and Sheffield are expected back at some point. But by late August or early September, the lack of biceps may have already locked the Yankees out of October. And since they are recovering from wrist surgery, who knows what they will be able to deliver upon returning.

Horacio Ramirez, a lefty the Yankees had not seen until last night, limited them to one run and eight hits in eight innings. He is 3-2.

Jaret Wright’s second straight strong outing – going six innings for the fourth time this year (first since June 2) – was wasted by the Men Without Bats, who have stranded 106 runners in the last 11 games.

Wright gave up one run and five hits but left trailing, 1-0.

Ron Villone, who replaced Wright to start the seventh, watched Adam LaRoche swat the first pitch of the inning over the right-field fence for a 2-0 Braves lead.

Coupled with the Red Sox beating the Mets, the loss dropped the Yankees 3½ games behind their blood rivals in the AL East. It’s the farthest they have been out of first place since they were 3½ back on April 19.

The booing of Alex Rodriguez continued when the cleanup hitter went 0-for-4. A-Rod is hitting .254 (36-for-142) with six homers and 19 RBIs at the Stadium and .301 (40-for-133) with nine homers and 33 RBIs away from The Bronx.

The Yankees cut the Braves’ lead to 2-1 in the seventh when Jorge Posada opened with a single and scored from third on Melky Cabrera’s single off third baseman Chipper Jones’ glove. Miguel Cabrera, the Yankees’ regular second baseman with Cano on the DL, kept the inning alive with a single to center. However, Ramirez froze Johnny Damon with a 1-2 pitch for the final out.

The Braves got the run back in the eighth off Villone and T.J. Beam. Edgar Renteria led off with a single and Jeff Francoeur’s two-out bloop single to right-center off Beam scored Renteria to restore the two-run cushion.

Mike Myers replaced Beam to face lefty-swinging Adam LaRoche and struck him out looking to strand two.

Kyle Farnsworth’s struggles continued in the ninth when the Braves added two runs to put the Yankees in a four-run ditch. Farnsworth departed with two outs and heard the same boos A-Rod was showered with.

The Yankees continued to struggle against pitchers they had never seen. Sunday night it was the Marlins Anibal Sanchez handcuffing them for 52/3 innings.Last night, it was Ramirez applying the clamps.

A leadoff walk to Johnny Damon in the first was erased when right fielder Jeff Francoeur made a running catch on Derek Jeter’s tailing liner toward the foul line. Thinking the ball was going to fall, Damon raced around second and was doubled off first.

Posada’s one-out double in the second led to nothing. Melky Cabrera opened the third with a single and Damon followed with a one-out single off Ramirez’ glove. With runners on second and third via a balk call on Ramirez, Jeter grounded out to the pitcher and Jason Giambi flied to right.

Andy Phillips’ leadoff single in the fourth was followed by two fly balls to the outfield and Damon fanning.

Wright gave up four hits and two walks through five innings but only one run.Pete Orr singled to left to start the first but was erased by a strong throw from Posada to Jeter trying to swipe second.

Andruw Jones’ doubled to left in the second and scored on Francoeur’s one-out single. Scott Thorman walked with two outs but Wright kept the damage to a run by getting Ryan Langerhans on a grounder.

Wright worked around Thorman’s leadoff single in the fifth that came very close to striking Wright in the head.

george.king@nypost.com