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Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the arrival of the Astros in town the next few days would lead to “a shot-in-the-arm series.’’ For eight innings, though, that sounded like a shot-in-the-dark prediction.

But then the Yankees did what seemed impossible, brightening what has been an illuminating season. Trailing 6-3 and hitless since the first inning, they erupted for four runs in the bottom of the ninth, sending an Astros-jeering crowd of 44,071 out of their seats and then out of the Stadium believing anything is possible, reveling in a 7-6 victory Thursday night against a team they love to hate.

Aaron Hicks clubbed a three-run home run off of Ryan Pressly, who entered and promptly walked the first two batters he faced, setting up Hicks’ line drive into the right-field seats. Aaron Judge then smacked a game-winning single off reliever Ryne Stanek, continuing his magical, MVP-worthy season.

“We don’t want to lose you know,’’ Hicks said. “We’re a team that’s gonna keep fighting until the end, until the last out was made.’’

The Yankees are 52-18, the third-best start in franchise history after 70 games. It matches the third-best start after 70 games by any major league team in the past 93 years. This one might have been the most difficult, and dramatic, of them all.

“We are never out of a game,’’ Judge said.

Gerrit Cole made a run at history on Monday — and then the Yankees got a huge hit from Aaron Hicks and a gutsy performance from Wandy Peralta to hold on and beat the Rays, 4-2. 

After Cole took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, the Yankees gave back a two-run lead, but Hicks — in the midst of a rough season — delivered an RBI triple in the top of the ninth for the go-ahead run. 

Jose Trevino followed with a sacrifice fly to score Hicks to give the Yankees a two-run lead. 

The Yankees held on in the bottom of the inning, as Wandy Peralta rebounded from his poor outing in Toronto on Sunday and got out of a  two-on, one-out jam to pick up the save. 

“When we can answer like that, it’s special kind of stuff,’’ Cole said of the team’s ability to win another close game. 

Anthony Rizzo crushed a grand slam to cap off an eight-run frame as the Yankees ran away with a 12-3 win over the Blue Jays in the series opener at Rogers Centre. 

After his walk-off homer Thursday gave the Yankees a 2-1 win over the Rays, Rizzo left no doubt with his round-tripper against the Blue Jays, clobbering it an estimated 435 feet to the facing above the second deck in right field. That gave the Yankees a 10-1 lead in the fifth inning, all but putting their eighth straight win on ice. 

“That’s kind of the knockout blow right there,” manager Aaron Boone said. 

It was Rizzo’s sixth home run in his past 13 games as he continued to mash the ball in June. He drilled nine home runs in his first 20 games, then hit just two over his next 30 games before his latest hot streak. 

Rizzo, who went 2-for-3 with a hit by pitch and walk on the night, has also been hitting the ball well lately, even when he is not homering. Over his past 14 games, he is batting .291 (16-for-55) with a .989 OPS and 18 RBI. 

Starling Marte was back Sunday night, giving the Mets their first “regular” lineup in four games. 

The veteran outfielder departed Tuesday’s game in San Diego with left quadriceps discomfort. On the same night, Pete Alonso was hit in the right hand by a pitch and forced to leave the game. 

Marte failed in attempts to talk his way back into the lineup Friday and Saturday, but Buck Showalter finally relented for the Mets’ 4-1 win in the series finale against the Angels. Alonso returned to the lineup two days earlier. 

Marte went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. 

“Marte is happy and we’ll see,” Showalter said. “We could have pushed the envelope the last couple of days. We just would like to get a feel where he is before the off day, but he’s ready to go.” 

Jeff McNeil returned to second base, after playing the previous two games in right field. 

It had been more than two weeks since the Yankees had allowed as many as six runs in a game, and when Nestor Cortes retired the first nine Twins batters he faced on Wednesday, that streak seemed sure to grow.

But in a rare clunker, Cortes and the Yankees faltered, losing 8-1, to end their seven-game winning streak.

The day started with manager Aaron Boone talking about Cortes’ chances of starting the All-Star game, based on the stellar beginning to his season, but the left-hander gave up a season-high four runs in 4 ¹/₃ innings.

Cortes entered with an MLB-best 1.50 ERA, and Wednesday marked the first time he has allowed more than three runs in a start since last season — a stretch of 19 straight outings.

“There’s gonna be ups and downs in a season,’’ Cortes said. “It’s whether you come back the next time and weather the storm.”

The loss to the Twins was also a rarity, as the Yankees had beaten Minnesota five times in a row, and nine out of their last 10 meetings. Since 2015, the Yankees were 30-10 versus Minnesota — but Boone wasn’t interested in those stats.

The Mets believed they had tacked on another two-out run in the third inning when a Patrick Corbin sinker bore in on Luis Guillorme, appearing to strike his hand with the bases loaded. But upon the Nationals’ challenge, the call was overturned: The ball had drilled the handle of the bat.

And so on the next pitch, Guillorme calmly slapped a two-run single through the left side.

In a season in which the Mets have lost Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer for a significant chunk of time only for other pitchers to step up in their absences, even things that go wrong have ended up going right.

Behind yet another offensive explosion filled with timely hits and yet another step-up from an unexpected pitching source, the Mets continued to play the hammer to the nails in their division with a 10-0 destruction of the Nationals at Citi Field in front of 25,263 on Tuesday night for their season-high fifth straight victory.

The Mets (34-17) are a season-best 17 games over .500 and 18-7 against the NL East. The Mets now head west as their competition level gets cranked up against the Dodgers, Padres and Angels.

“I hope the hitters keep approaching the way they are, putting the ball in play,” Buck Showalter said of an offense that clicked for 17 hits. 

The Rangers survived one natural disaster, and they’ll get another as a reward.

New York completed its rally from a 3-1 deficit with a 6-2 win over the Hurricanes in Game 7 of their second-round series on Monday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.

Adam Fox and Chris Kreider scored first-period power play goals for the Blueshirts, who got 36 stops from Igor Shesterkin in the win — the team’s second Game 7 win of the 2022 NHL playoffs.

Ryan Strome added to the lead with a second-period tally with Kreider making it 4-0 early in the third.

The Hurricanes got a slim ray of hope with Tony DeAngelo’s third-period goal — but those hopes were quickly dashed when Filip Chytil picked up a loose puck in the offensive zone and quickly put it behind Pytor Kochetkov for a 5-1 lead. Max Domi’s late goal made it 5-2 before Andrew Copp’s empty-net goal made it 6-2.

Now, the Rangers will face the reigning Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.

Following a successful test at select locations last year, Arby’s today announced the nationwide debut of the new Deluxe Wagyu Steakhouse Burger.

The Deluxe Wagyu Steakhouse Burger features a patty made with a premium blend of American Wagyu and ground beef, layered with American cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion and a special burger sauce on a toasted buttery brioche bun.

There’s also an option to add bacon and ranch for a more unique, indulgent flavor.

Arby’s Wagyu Steakhouse Burger is made with a blend of 52% American Wagyu and 48% ground beef, for a premium steakhouse burger that’s 50 percent larger than a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder.

Arby’s Wagyu Steakhouse Burger is cooked using Sous Vide style – a unique cooking method locks in juices and rich flavor, while producing a juicy, tender burger with a slightly pink center.

American Wagyu is a cross between Japanese Wagyu – one of the most sought-after meats in the world – and high-quality continental breeds of cattle.

Underdogs or not, the Rangers have reinserted themselves into this second-round series against the Hurricanes in convincing fashion.

After dropping the first two games of Round 2 on the road, the Rangers effectively protected home ice and evened the series at two-all with a win in Game 3 and then an inspiring 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Game 4 Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden to send this matchup back to Raleigh, N.C., looking a lot different than it did at the start.

In New York, the Rangers have stifled Carolina’s usually cohesive team game. They have worked for the right balance of scoring and a defensively sound structure. And as a result, the Rangers have quickly turned this into a competitive series.

Oh, and the Hurricanes are now 0-5 on the road this postseason.

“It’s huge to get the series back to even,” said Ryan Lindgren, who recorded his first career multi-point playoff game with two assists in the win. “Even the first two games in Carolina, we played good hockey. We’ve been a confident group all year. We’ve played the hockey we wanted to play in Carolina, even though we didn’t get the score we wanted.

After a pair of Game 7s on Sunday, the NBA’s conference final matchups are set. In the West, it’ll be the No. 3 Warriors against the No. 4 Dallas Mavericks. In the East, it’s the No. 1 Miami Heat vs. the No. 2 Boston Celtics. 

Boston-Miami begins on Tuesday. Golden State-Dallas starts on Wednesday.

We’ve said all season that this was going to be a wild postseason, and it certainly has been. The title hasn’t been this up for grabs in quite a while. It genuinely feels like any one of these four teams could end up in the Finals.