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Rookie Masataka Yoshida hit a three-run homer four batters into the game and drove in four runs, and Brayan Bello pitched six innings Friday night to lead the Boston Red Sox to an 8-3 victory over the skidding New York Yankees, who dropped two games under .500.

The Red Sox took a 4-0 lead 19 pitches in against rookie Jhony Brito (4-6) when Yoshida hit a changeup into the right-center field seats. Yoshida homered after the Yankees were charged with consecutive mound visits to go over signs because the PitchCom device was not working for the Red Sox, meaning the Yankees were unable to use it.

After allowing Judge’s 23rd homer, Garrett Whitlock struck out Giancarlo Stanton to end the eighth. Brennan Bernardino allowed two hits to start the ninth and Chris Martin finished off Boston’s sixth win in seven meetings against the Yankees.

The Yankees avoided being shut out in three straight games for the first time since September 2016 when Anthony Volpe doubled and scored on DJ LeMahieu’s groundout in the third.

Brito allowed seven runs (six earned) and nine hits in 2 innings.

Hormel Foods is working with a humanitarian organization to send SPAM to Maui following the recent massive wildfire.

Hormel, which produces the canned pork product, is sending ‘The Convoy of Hope’ to Maui after the island was ravaged by the disaster, which resulted in over 100 deaths. Hawaii consumes an estimated 8 million cans of SPAM per year, the most of any U.S. state.

SPAM became popular in Hawaii during World War II when soldiers stationed in the Pacific were served the meat on the frontlines and remained popular in the area.

“Now is our time for all to help. We need to come together for Maui, it’s going to take years for them to rebuild.”

Last place was theirs for the first time this season on Sunday, but the Mets finally showed up against their chief NL East tormentor and promptly relinquished it.

The embarrassment stopped, at least for a day. 

The Mets received a solid pitching performance from Kodai Senga and  in a flashback to last season grinded at-bats in a fruitful sixth inning that sparked a 7-6 victory over the Braves at Citi Field.

In losing the first three games of this series the Mets had been outscored 34-3, but on this night contributions throughout the lineup —  No. 9 hitter Rafael Ortega went 3-for-4 with two RBIs — added even the smallest semblance of decency to the weekend; the Braves had never swept a four-game series in Queens.

The Mets (53-65) were a percentage point below the Nationals for last place in the NL East as the night began, but clawed back to fourth. 

The team’s mission for the final 44 games of their season might be summed up as such: find rest for the veterans, get experience for the rookies and avoid the NL East cellar.

The Yankees’ pitching staff tossed a gem and the offense delivered with nine hits, including two home runs, to beat the Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon, 3-1.

The Yankees took a risk bringing Nestor Cortes back from the injured list. Sure, Cortes looked great in his two rehab starts with minor league affiliates, working back from a serious rotator cuff strain, but the left-hander hadn’t pitched against big-league hitters since May 30.

Cortes didn’t just smother Houston’s offense over four innings, setting the tone in a 3-1 win. He delivered his best start of the season.

The left-hander was in total control, striking out a season-high eight batters. Astros hitters whiffed 17 times against Cortes, coming up empty on exactly half of their swings. The only hit that Cortes allowed was his lone mistake, a two-strike cutter that leaked over the heart of the plate to leadoff man Jose Altuve — Altuve made him pay, crushing a solo home run 403 feet to left.

Cortes ended up throwing 64 pitches, handing the ball over to the best  bullpen in baseball in the fifth. Yankees relievers lived up to that reputation the rest of the way as Ian Hamilton, Tommy Kahnle, Michael King and closer Clay Holmes barely broke a sweat over five spotless innings, allowing just one base hit in that span.

Justin Verlander was traded by the New York Mets. The club sent the ace starter back to his former team, the Houston Astros, in exchange for two outfield prospects. The next day, Verlander sent a classy message to Mets fans after the trade.

“Thank you to the Mets and the incredible fans for my time here in NY. You welcomed me and my family with open arms and I can’t thank you  enough for the opportunity to play for this amazing city,” Verlander wrote.

Verlander, 40, signed a two-year, $86 million contract with the Mets this past offseason. The three-time Cy Young award winner pitched to a 3.15 ERA and was worth 2.1 Wins Above Replacement in the first half, which represented his only time with New York.

The Mets, in fourth place in the National League East, underachieved massively after an offseason of spending and high expectations following a 101-win 2022 season.

So much so, that the Mets traded their best reliever, David Robertson, their two best pitchers in Max Scherzer and Verlander, and one of their best bats in outfielder Tommy Pham.

Scherzer even shed some light on the Mets’ thinking at the deadline, saying that the club told him they had their eyes more on contention in  2025 and 2026 rather than next season.