Tim Locastro entered Sunday with three hits on the season. 

But in his first start for the Yankees since April 29, Locastro doubled his measly hit total by the fourth inning. 

Drawing the start in right field over Joey Gallo against left-hander Chris Sale, Locastro went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and a stolen base. He spurred the Yankees’ eight-run fourth inning with a leadoff single and capped the inning with a blast to left-center in a 13-2 demolition of the Red Sox. 

“Terrific,” manager Aaron Boone said of Locastro. “The big inning, it starts with him stealing a base. We get a ball, find a hole, all of a sudden we get a big number. Timmy was the spark to that. … Certainly, there’s an energy he plays the game with. It’s good to get him in there, making a huge contribution.” 

Locastro rejoined the Yankees on Saturday, summoned from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with Miguel Castro going on the 10-day IL due to a shoulder strain. Locsatro arrived in The Bronx with a focused mindset. 

“I’m just trying to come up here and help the team win baseball games,” he said. 

In that fashion, Locastro carved out a role for himself earlier in the season as a speed option off the bench; he has appeared in 17 games this season, eight of which have come as a pinch runner. 

But a back strain sent Locastro to the IL in early May and when the Yankees reinstated him on June 3, they sent him down to SWB. 

For SWB, Locastro compiled a respectable .749 OPS. 

You wouldn’t gauge that by watching him at the plate Sunday. 

“I was just trying to get on base,” Locastro said. “You know the middle of the lineup, top to bottom, how good they are. So getting on base, those guys can drive me in. That’s my goal as a player.” 

No Red Sox pitcher could stop him from achieving that goal, at least in the few innings with the game still competitive. Locastro reached base against three different relievers — Hirokazu Sawamura in the second, and Ryan Brasier and Jake Diekman in the fourth. 

Sunday’s performance by Locastro also doubled as a revelation. He provided ample production at a spot in the lineup that has morphed into a black hole for the Yankees, amidst the stunning regression of Joey Gallo, who came off the bench Sunday to club a home run. 

And with a three-hit day from the 8-hole, Locastro fared just as he hoped. 

“Our goal was to finish the first half strong and we accomplished that,” Locastro said. “I’m happy to be a part of that.”