Carlos Rodon finally gave the Yankees the kind of start he craved on the way to a 3-1 win over the Mets in The Bronx.

In his first start since being booed by Yankees fans in Anaheim last week, Rodon walked off the mound after 6 innings of one-run ball to an ovation from the sellout crowd of 46,761.

Rodon out-pitched another left-hander whose season was delayed by injury, the Mets’ Jose Quintana, to secure a split of the Subway Series in this two-game set and the overall four-game season series.

The Yankees (54-48) manufactured just enough offense to make sure Rodon’s improved outing was not all for naught. Harrison Bader went 3-for-4 with two runs, helping to ensure the Yankees remained 2 games back of the Blue Jays for the final playoff spot.

“A really big outing for Rodon and for us,” manager Aaron Boone said.

Lionel Messi arrived at Inter Miami with the promise of big moments. He produced a magical one for his debut Friday night.

Messi’s dazzling last-ditch, free-kick goal provided a dramatic winner, giving Inter Miami a 2-1 Leagues Cup victory over Mexican league side Cruz Azul.

And his winner inspired an immortal moment when, after he was mobbed by teammates, Messi exhorted the sellout crowd at DRV PNK Stadium into a frenzy, and ran over to his family in the stands for an emotional embrace.

“What I saw was the goal. I saw the goal, I knew that I had to score,” Messi said. “It was the last play of the game and I wanted to score so we didn’t go to penalties. So it was very important for us to get this win. Because it’s a new tournament, this is going to give us confidence moving forward.”

That, in short, is exactly what MLS had in mind in bringing in Messi.

Clarke Schmidt made a mistake, and a familiar, dejected murmur spread through the ballpark. Schmidt had served up a three-run home run that put the Yankees in a two-run hole in the top of the fourth inning.

But as the Yankees try to launch a comeback in their season, Billy McKinney led a comeback Friday night.

McKinney responded with a three-run homer of his own in the bottom of the fourth, and both his bat and glove starred in a 5-4, series-opening win over the Royals in front of a sellout crowd of 46,242 in The Bronx.

The outfielder, who had been slumping, made two remarkable catches  and hit his first homer in 15 games, giving the Yankees a lead they held, if narrowly.

“Billy with the big swing I think was settling for us,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees scored all their runs on three homers, following a disastrous three-game sweep in Anaheim earlier in the week in which they scored seven runs total.

The Yankees (51-47) snapped a four-game losing streak and awoke from a nightmarish, 1-5 road trip.

The All-Star break didn’t do the Mets much good. They opened the second half of the season with a total flop in a 6-0 loss to the Dodgers at Citi Field.

Justin Verlander delivered another lackluster start — he walked a season-high six batters in just five innings — and the offense was nowhere to be found against Dodgers lefty Julio Urias.

Fittingly, it all played out on what looked like a burnt-out cow pasture thanks to a concert that took place during the break. There were swaths of dead grass behind the left side of the infield, as well as in left-center field.

The Mets’ third straight loss dropped them back to seven games under .500 at 42-49 and left them seeming less likely to make a run at the postseason, with the trade deadline just over two weeks away. 

They now are eight games back in the wild-card race and a season-worst 19 ½ games back of Atlanta in the NL East.

The New York Jets will be featured on the upcoming season of HBO‘s annual NFL training camp series Hard Knocks.

The NFL and NFL Films have selected the New York Jets to serve as this year’s team on Hard Knocks. The cameras will be rolling in full force at the Jets training camp. 

The Jets have been the focus of the off-season, having acquired four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers, as well as adding several notable free agents. New York is coming off a 7-10 finish in 2022, having missed the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year, but fielded a young, competitive roster expected to improve in 2023.

The second half of the season has begun, but the Yankees’ offense looked a lot like the one they had in the first half of the season.

After Giancarlo Stanton’s two-run home run in the first inning, the New York Yankees went down quietly in a 7-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The Yankees (49-43) led 2-0 after two batters, but managed only six hits the rest of the way and drew just one walk all night in Casey’s first game as hitting coach.

Instead it was the Rockies (35-57), owners of the third-worst record in the majors, who delivered the boom. 

Their offense, led by former Yankees assistant hitting coach Hensley Meulens, crushed three home runs — one off starter Carlos Rodon and two more off the bullpen.

The loss, coupled with the Red Sox’s win over the Cubs, moved the Yankees into a last-place tie in the AL East. It’s the first time since 1992 that the Yankees have been tied for last place this late in a season.

Chick-fil-A is bringing back the fan-favorite Peach Milkshake alongside the White Peach Sunjoy.

The Peach Milkshake combines Chick-fil-A’s signature Ice-dream dessert and peaches, topped off with whipped cream and a cherry.

Meanwhile, the White Peach Sunjoy beverage is made with a combination of Chick-fil-A’s Sunjoy beverage, blending their classic Lemonade and freshly-brewed Sweetened Iced Tea, with natural white peach flavors. Fans can also enjoy the White Peach flavor with Lemonade, Frosted Lemonade and Iced Tea.

You can find the Peach Milkshake and White Peach Sunjoy at participating locations nationwide.

If the Yankees intend on meeting expectations this season, they will need a healthy and productive Aaron Judge.

Without him for the past month — and with no indication when he might return from the sprained big right toe — they have figured out a way to at least survive and keep themselves in position for the playoffs.

Another good day from the offense led to an 8-4 win over Baltimore in The Bronx, as the Yankees improved to 13-13 since Judge got hurt in Los Angeles.

As a result, they picked up another game on the Orioles, who are in second place in the AL East behind front-running Tampa Bay.

“I’ve been happy all year with the way we compete,’’ Aaron Boone said  after his team won for the seventh time in 10 games. “And it hasn’t been perfect. We’ve been banged up and it hasn’t always been easy for us. They’ve put us in a spot to have a really good season.”

Just when Mets’ fans thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Mets followed up a miserable road trip with a loss at home to the Brewers 2-1 on Monday night.

Even having Justin Verlander on the mound couldn’t fix what’s ailing the Mets, as they dropped their fifth in the last six games — and 16th of 21 — as the season that began with enormous expectations continues to spiral out of control.

They are now a season-worst eight games under .500 (35-43), a season-worst 16 games back of the NL East-leading Braves and 8 games behind in the wild-card race.

“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,’’ Verlander said, seemingly stunned at what he’s become a part of.

On Monday, Verlander pitched five scoreless innings, but needed 100 pitches to get there and had to be replaced to start the sixth.

Drew Smith, fresh off a 10-game ban for violating the league’s sticky substance policy, entered with a one-run lead and gave up a two-run homer to Joey Wiemer to put Milwaukee ahead.

But as Buck Showalter said before the game, it’s impossible to point the finger at one area in which the team is lacking.