Aroldis Chapman hasn’t been himself, but that hasn’t hurt the Yankees yet

CHICAGO — After talking about using Aroldis Chapman in different situations, trying to keep the left-hander pitching regularly and facing different parts of opposing lineups, it hasn’t happened through the first month of the season.

Chapman just allowed his first run of the season on Wednesday, although he has yet to look dominant.

His strikeout rate is 9.53 per nine innings, by far the lowest of his career.

The most alarming aspect of Chapman’s game is the fact that he is consistently walking batters for a second straight season.

Entering Thursday’s series opener against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, Chapman had walked eight batters in his previous 8 ¹/₃ innings — to go along with five hits — over 10 appearances.

Somehow, he managed to give up just the one run during that stretch, but he had to be bailed out of a jam on April 14, when he walked three batters and the next day, walking in the winning run in the 11th inning in a loss to the Orioles.

He escaped disaster in Wednesday’s win over the Blue Jays, allowing a run, while picking up the save, giving up a leadoff double to Santiago Espinal, a wild pitch and a walk to Vinny Capra before retiring the next three batters — with a loud foul ball by Bo Bichette that briefly looked like it might tie the game.

Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman delivers a pitch during the ninth inning of a win over the Blue Jays. Robert Sabo/New York Post

Chapman came away with the save — his eighth of the season and 152nd as a Yankee — surpassing Goose Gossage for sole possession of third-place on the Yankees’ all-time saves list, trailing only Mariano Rivera and Dave Righetti.

After the win, manager Aaron Boone said he was “encouraged” by the outing — mostly for one reason.

“I like that he went and really got after it with his fastball,’’ Boone said. “And when he did, his fastball got better.”

His fastball velocity is slightly down, which is to be expected for a 34-year-old, but it’s still his most effective pitch.

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The slider gets hit harder.

“Hitters aren’t squaring him up much at all,’’ one AL scout said. “It’s just command, which I think will come and go with him.”

Pitching coach Matt Blake said last week Chapman “has shown flashes of 101 [mph], but he doesn’t always quite know where it’s going,” which is why Chapman has typically kept the fastball down a tick.

As for using Chapman in different situations to keep him on a more regular schedule after he struggled following stretches of inactivity a year ago, Blake said there have been instances when they’ve tried to get Chapman in against a certain part of an opposing lineup, but it hasn’t worked out.

For now, they’re left with an inconsistent reliever closing games.

The two most effective relievers for the Yankees this season, Michael King and Clay Holmes, are in different roles and haven’t had much closing experience.

Two other potential candidates, Jonathan Loaisiga and Chad Green, have had their own issues, with Loaisiga struggling with his command and Green getting hit harder than he did earlier in his career.

For now, Chapman — like most of the rest of his teammates during this surprising start by the Yankees — is not much of a concern.