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.

“It’s been tough like this all year,” said Jeff McNeil. “We progress and then tonight the bats kind of fell asleep. We’ve just got to put it all together for a while.” 

Former NBA All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from basketball. 

“Now the time has come for me to say goodbye to the court where I made my name, to the game that gave me purpose and pride,” Anthony said.

“With this bittersweet goodbye to the NBA, I am excited about what the future holds for me.” 

Anthony, 39, a former national champion at Syracuse, was selected No. 3 overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2003 NBA Draft and spent his first eight seasons with the franchise before being traded to the New York Knicks midway through the 2010-11 season, where he played for seven seasons. The Brooklyn native had later stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.

Anthony retires ninth on the NBA all-time scoring list with 28,289 career points during his career. The former Syracuse standout was a 10-time All-Star, a scoring champion in 2013 and a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

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.