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

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.