After three brutal starts to begin his Yankees career, going 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA, Carlos Rodon, the $162 million left-hander set out on Wednesday to do better.

Rodon accomplished his goal and finally giving 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.

The Mets (47-54) fell for the fourth time in their last six games.

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 NFL announced its five planned international games, which includes three matchups in England and two in Germany.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have already appeared in the NFL International Series a record nine times, will appear in consecutive London games in October.

The full schedule of international games:

• October 1- Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, U.K.
• October 8- Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur in London, U.K.
• October 15- Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans at Tottenham Hotspur in London, U.K.
• November 5- Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs at Frankfurt Stadium in Frankfurt, Germany
• November 12- Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots at Frankfurt Stadium in Frankfurt, Germany