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.

“Look, we gotta be better, plain and simple,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So I’m not worried about where we are — it’s all there in front of us. We don’t have to go on some incredible run. We control it. But we all know we gotta play better than we’re playing. We obviously gotta get the offense going.”  

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.

It seems that UFC superstar Conor McGregor may have let slip possible plans for a Summer Slam matchup in WWE against their top star Roman Reigns.

There is a lot of crossover between the mixed martial arts and professional wrestling fan bases and it has been that way for years. But there have also been many top talents in those worlds that have switched industries over the last decade.

WWE greats like Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Bobby Lashley, and Dave Batista made the jump into MMA with varying levels of success. While UFC stars and legends like Ronda Rousey, Matt Riddle, Shayna Bazler, and Ken Shamrock left cage fighting behind to make their way to the land of sports entertainment.

One superstar from the world of MMA that has often flirted with making an appearance in pro wrestling is former two-division UFC champion, Conor McGregor. He is the only fighter in company history to be allowed to compete in boxing while under contract, and with the two promotions now set to be merged under an all-new company, the possibilities of further crossover between WWE and UFC seem as likely as ever.