Sabathia looks for some old magic in Game 4 tonight

The Yankees don’t need CC Sabathia to turn back the clock to 2007, when he won the AL Cy Young Award with the Cleveland Indians, or to 2009, when he almost single-handedly pitched the Yankees into the World Series with two dominant performances in the ALCS.

They will settle for the Sabathia of 12 days ago, who shut out that Tampa Bay Rays on one hit over five innings, or even better, the Sabathia of June 29, who spun seven innings of one-run ball in an 8-1 victory over the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. (Hopefully, he will not revert to the CC of August 2, who lasted just three innings against the Red Sox in a 15-7 Yankees loss at Fenway Park).

But the Yankees need a bigtime performance out of Sabathia as they attempt to stave off elimination from the ALDS in Game 4 against the Red Sox tonight at Yankee Stadium.

About the only positive the Yankees could draw from their embarrassing 16-1 loss in Monday’s Game 3 is the fact that none of their back-of-thebullpen arms – Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Zach Britton or Aroldis Chapman – got into the game, meaning all will be available to back up Sabathia at the first sign of trouble.

And presumably, manager Aaron Boone will be quicker to get out of his chair Tuesday night than he was on Monday, when he managed as if he had been handcuffed to the bench while seemingly everyone else in the ballpark could see Luis Severino had nothing with which to stop the dangerous Red Sox lineup.

“In my mind, when I start the game, I start the game to finish the game,’’ Sabathia had said before Monday’s game, but realistically, he knows that is not only unlikely, but impossible.

If they want to force a decisive Game 5 in Boston on Thursday, what the Yankees need out of Sabathia is to keep them in the game for four good innings, five at most, before the bullpen takes over.

Sabathia is 38 years old, has a bum right knee and can’t throw anywhere close to 97 anymore. Now, he relies on a cutter taught to him by Andy Pettitte, who had to make a similar adjustment late in his career, as well as the hard shell developed over 18 big-league seasons, 3,400 bigleague innings and a bunch of high-pressure situations.

“I think it helps to have the experience of being out there,’’ said Sabathia, who has started 22 postseason games and is 6-0 with a 3.32 ERA in 10 ALDS starts. “I’ve been in those situations a lot. It’s all the same now. I can slow the game down now. No game is bigger than the other.’’

But this one is bigger because if the Yankees don’t win it, winter comes early to the Bronx. Last October, the Yankees handed Sabathia the ball for the decisive game of their ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, the one in which they fell into an 0-2 hole. He responded with a creditable outing, striking out nine, but after being staked to an early 3-0 lead was yanked by Joe Girardi one out into the fifth after allowing two runs.

The Yankees would settle for that on Tuesday, especially after seeing Severino torched for six runs in three-plus innings, and a quartet of middle relievers – Lance Lynn, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder and Stephen Tarpley – touched up for eight more before Boone resorted to having backup catcher Austin Romine pitch the ninth. He allowed two more on a home run to Brock Holt.

“We got no choice but to flush this one,’’ Boone said. “The good thing about today is it’s only one game, and as awful as tonight was for us, we got to turn the page. Tomorrow’s obviously do or die.

Despite the availability of J.A. Happ, who threw only 44 pitches in Game 1, Boone has chosen to do or die with Sabathia.

“We feel like CC physically is in a good place right now coming off a really good start at the end of the year,’’ Boone said. “I feel like his knee is in a good place and feel like he’s been pretty good when we’ve been able to give him that rest. So we feel like he’s lined up and ready to go for tomorrow. We’ll feel good about handing him the ball.’’

But all signs point to a relatively brief appearance for Sabathia in Game 4, who has gone as many as six innings just once since August 29. And in the seven starts he has made since going on the disabled list in August for knee maintenance, Sabathia’s record was 2-3, his ERA 4.81.

Most tellingly, his third time through a batting order has been anything but a charm; this season, opponents’ batting aver-