ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As it turns out, when the Yankees patched up some holes Monday night for a win over the Rays, they did so with cheap duct tape.

Because a night later, the USS Yankee just took on more water as most of the problems that have been plaguing them of late came flooding back.

Will Warren put them in an early hole, their lineup continued to strike out at an alarming rate and another baserunning blunder cost them a chance at a rally as the Yankees fell to the Rays 6-4 in the second game of a crucial four-game showdown Tuesday at Tropicana Field.

The all-around ugliness sent the Yankees (50-41) to their 10th loss in their past 12 games and allowed the Rays (53-36) to regain a four-game lead atop the AL East.

“Sucks,” said Warren, who gave up six runs across four innings. “We all know what’s going on here, right before the [All-Star] break. Cam [Schlittler] pitched a hell of a game [Monday] night and I didn’t today. The bullpen held it down, we fought like hell there the last few innings and didn’t get it done, but we’ll come back [Wednesday] and strap it up again.”

For the second straight night, the Yankees struck out 17 times — 12 of them coming across 16 outs recorded by Rays lefty Ian Seymour — giving them 34 over their past two games, setting a new franchise record for any two-game span (30 was the previous record).

“That’s a lot of strikeouts,” said Cody Bellinger, who struck out twice and was thrown out on a wide turn around first base on a single in the sixth inning. “I knew we had 17 [Monday]. I didn’t feel like we had that many today. But the Rays, they notoriously got really good arms. Just got to continue to put the ball in play, do the little things right. Making that mistake in the sixth inning there myself was not the way to win a game. So we just got to continue to do the little things right.”

Paul Goldschmidt, who is now in the midst of an 0-for-30 skid, and José Caballero combined for eight of the strikeouts.

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The Yankees actually recorded 11 hits, their most in one game since June 17, but they were weighed down by the strikeouts en masse.

They entered the day with the fifth-highest strikeout rate in the majors (23.9 percent), but it has been accentuated during their brutal offensive stretch of late.

“We’re going to come in here and grind away [Wednesday] and try to get this thing turned around, get some guys going,” manager Aaron Boone said. “This is where we are. That’s the bed we’ve made. We’ve also been a very good offense much of the year. Right now, we’re going through it. We got to be better, clearly.”

Ben Rice, who had three hits, including a three-run homer, appears to be breaking out of his slump. But Goldschmidt remains in his, as does Bellinger, who is now 8-for-66 over his past 18 games since his last home run, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (10-for-51 over his past 16), among others.

And when those big bats are missing, mistakes on the bases like Bellinger’s loom especially large. After Seymour exited the game with one out in the sixth, Ryan McMahon lifted a single and Bellinger followed with a single to right field.

Bellinger, typically one of the best Yankees base runners, saw a high throw to third base, “but I wasn’t committed right away, so I took two steps and then at that point, it was too late,” as he was thrown out for the second out.

“That was a bad mistake and really unacceptable,” Bellinger said.

Once again, the Yankees spent most of the night chasing a deficit. Warren allowed three home runs — two to left-handed hitters, who have continued to give him trouble of late as he has pitched to a 6.21 ERA over his past six starts compared to 3.22 through his first 12.

The Yankees will have to figure out a way to get Warren back on track because Carlos Rodón and Max Fried are still weeks away from a return.

The same can be said for the offense, which will remain without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton for the foreseeable future, meaning they must make do with what they have in-house.

“I don’t know if it’s approach. I think we got some guys clearly going through it right now and in a little bit of a funk and a little bit in between, coupled with we’re facing good pitching,” Boone said. “But at the end of the day, we got to find a way offensively, especially times when it’s challenging.”