Frankie Montas said he doesn’t know if he’s still tipping his pitches, but he does know he’s improving.

Montas, who told SNY this past week that he believed he was tipping his pitches in starts against Atlanta and the Pirates, showcased strong stuff that belied a so-so line in the Mets’ 12-6 win over the Yankees on Saturday at Citi Field. The righthander allowed four runs and five hits in 5 2⁄3 innings.

“I don’t know,” Montas said. “I go out there and I really don’t think about it when I’m on the mound at all. I think it’s about getting people out. Even if I’m tipping or whatever, you’ve still got to put a good swing on it.”

Montas also told SNY that he was working with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner to rectify the issue before this latest start.

Mets have Pop

The Mets signed righthanded reliever Zach Pop to a one-year deal on Saturday. Pop, who most recently was with the Mariners and elected free agency after clearing waivers, has a 4.75 ERA in 162 major-league appearances. He throws a hard sinker, slider and cutter. His best year was in 2022, when he compiled a 2.77 ERA in stints with the Marlins and Blue Jays.

He allowed eight earned runs and 10 hits in four appearances (5 1/3 innings) innings with Seattle this season.

Extra bases

With runners on first and second and none out in the first inning Saturday, red-hot Juan Soto made the interesting decision to drop a sacrifice bunt instead of swinging away. It worked out fine when Pete Alonso walked and Brandon Nimmo hit a grand slam . . . Chris Devenski will start for the Mets on Sunday, presumably as an opener. Devenski got an out in relief Saturday . . . Tylor Megill (hamstring strain) began playing catch on Saturday at about 70 to 75 feet, though it’ll be “weeks of him just throwing before he gets on the mound,” Carlos Mendoza said . . . Brooks Raley (Tommy John surgery), still slated to return after the All-Star break, pitched well again Friday in a rehab outing with Triple-A Syracuse. He allowed no runs and one hit in one inning, struck out one and walked one. The lefty has yet to allow a run in six minor-league appearances (6 2⁄3 innings). He has struck out 11 and walked one. Mendoza said the Mets still want to see Raley pitch in back-to-back games and two out of three. “He’s putting himself in a good position, he’s responding well, bouncing back well,” Mendoza said. “Now [we’re] basically preparing him for potential scenarios with the way we want to use him here.” . . . Austin Warren was optioned to Syracuse and former Long Island Duck Tyler Zuber was designated for assignment . . . Kodai Senga (hamstring) threw 3 2⁄3 innings in a rehab outing with Double-A Binghamton on Saturday. He allowed four runs (three earned), six hits and two walks, striking out four.

Ready for Round 2?

The Yankees and Mets are back at it in Queens Saturday afternoon after the Mets won Friday’s Subway Series opener, 6-5.

Can Frankie Montas bounce back after getting hit around by the Pirates? Will the Mets’ lineup have any answers for Carlos Rodón?

Follow The Post’s live updates for the latest Subway Series scores, news and more from Citi Field.

The Mets are no closer to naming a Sunday starter than they were a day ago, but after the way right-hander Justin Hagenman handled his start in the first game of the Subway Series, the team is confident they can use him again.

How they will use him is still in question. A bulk reliever, Hagenman is stretched out to throw about 60-70 pitches. When working efficiently, it’s enough to get through 4-5 innings. With the Mets needing pitching, it could benefit them to keep Hagenman around a little longer, despite the fact that he’ll need days off after starting Friday.

“He’s down today, tomorrow, then an off day, and then we’ll see where we are Tuesday and whether he’s available out of the bullpen,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday before the second game of the home series against the Yankees. “If we use him out of the bullpen one of those two days, we could throw a bullpen game in Game 3 [in Baltimore]. So he’s still a part of the pitching staff, we’ll see how we use him the next time he’s available.”

The Mets open a series against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday at Camden Yards, and continue the road trip against the Kansas City Royals before the break. Clay Holmes and David Peterson will start the first two games of the series against the Orioles. Left-hander Sean Manaea and right-hander Kodai Senga are expected to join them on the trip, but the soonest the Mets would be able to use either of them is in Kansas City.

Sunday’s pitcher has not been finalized, but left-hander Brandon Waddell will be the bulk guy.

The Mets didn’t have any new injuries to report Saturday, but they were able to make a transaction for a bullpen arm, selecting the contract of Zach Pop from Triple-A Syracuse. Right-hander Austin Warren, who threw 1 2/3 innings in Friday’s Subway Series game, was optioned to Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster for Pop, the Mets designated right-hander Tyler Zuber for assignment.

Senga (right hamstring strain) made his first rehab start Saturday with Double-A Binghamton, throwing 68 pitches. The results weren’t great on paper, with the right-hander giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits, walking two and striking out four. Results aren’t always the priority when it comes to rehab games. In this case, Senga’s health is what matters.

In addition to Senga and Manaea, the Mets anticipate left-hander Brooks Raley returning later in the month as well. He threw another scoreless inning in a minor league rehab game with Double-A Binghamton on Friday, and has reported no pain or discomfort as he’s been pitching again following his rehab from 2024 Tommy John surgery.

However, Raley still has work to do before he can get back on a big league mound, with the Mets needing to see him throw in back-to-back games and make two outings in a span of three days.

Right-handed starter Tylor Megill (elbow sprain) played catch Saturday at Citi Field for the first time since going on the injured list June 17.

COUNTING DOWN

With two home runs in Saturday’s win over the Yankees, first baseman Pete Alonso needs only six home runs to match Darryl Strawberry’s all-time Mets record of 252, and seven to set the new club record. It’s not something the slugger is thinking about at the moment, though he admits that he’s aware of the number.

With the Mets having won four straight to right the ship, he wants to continue hitting homers not to set a record, but to help the team continue winning. Alonso was stuck on 18 for the season for 13 games until Saturday, having been chasing pitches outside the zone too frequently. Over the week, he’s worked out of that and is now back to controlling the strike zone effectively.

“I just feel better in my setup,” Alonso said. “I feel good in my mechanics, I feel way better in my setup and that allows me to see the ball better.”

Alonso is one of several hitters that have turned in much improved at-bats this week. Francisco Lindor went 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI double Saturday, Starling Marte went 2-for-3 with a double and Juan Soto, the NL Player of the Month for June, has a 1.202 OPS with 12 home runs since June 1.

“When we are controlling the strike zone as a team, we’re dangerous,” Mendoza said.

SOUNDING THE TRUMPETS

It’s not every day a closer comes into a game with a six-run lead, but the trumpets played prior to the ninth inning Saturday afternoon and out jogged Edwin Diaz. Setup man Ryne Stanek pitched the eighth with a large lead as well. After throwing five pitches to finish the seventh, Mendoza could have kept right-hander Chris Devenski out there for the eighth, or gone with one of the Triple-A relievers.

However, having already called to get Stanek and Diaz hot, he didn’t want to waste them. With an off-day on Monday, Mendoza could have more flexibility with his bullpen in Sunday’s series finale. Still, using Diaz and Stanek could render them unavailable Sunday since they each pitched in back-to-back games Wednesday and Thursday.

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The days of holding the staff together with baling wire and chewing gum might be in the past. Frankie Montas gave the Mets what they needed Saturday, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea are on the mend and could rejoin the club in Cincinnati next weekend, and the dream rotation that has not yet taken even a full spin could become a reality within a fortnight.

Baseball life has taken a turn for the better on the Queens side of the Whitestone after a second consecutive bludgeoning of the boys from The Bronx, this time 12-6 on Saturday that represented the Mets’ fourth straight victory after dropping 13 of the preceding 16 games.

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Now, with opener Chris Devenski scheduled to take the ball for Sunday’s Subway Series finale before Senga and Manaea are in line for minor league rehab assignments this week, the Mets may not be all that far away from presenting their preferred Senga-Manaea-Montas-Clay Holmes-David Peterson rotation for the very first time.

Before this six-homer barrage — three from either side, two off the bat of Pete Alonso — got underway, manager Carlos Mendoza was asked to name his starting pitcher for the series finale even as his team was still facing exigent circumstances on the mound.

The Mets pitching carousel continues to spin.

Right-hander Jose Butto was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to July 1 with an undisclosed illness. The club declined to elaborate on the illness out of respect for the pitcher’s privacy, but he’s expected to return following the All-Star break. Right-hander Chris Devenski was called up from Triple-A Syracuse.

This comes only one day after the Mets placed starting pitcher Paul Blackburn and reliever Dedniel Nuñez on the IL. Blackburn was set to start Friday afternoon’s Subway Series game at Citi Field, but the Mets went with Syracuse swingman Justin Hagenman instead.

Hagenman turned in a valiant effort, allowing four earned runs on five hits and striking out five over 4 1/3 innings. A New Jersey native, Hagenman knows the magnitude of the Subway Series, which made it challenging for him to control his emotions at the start of the game. Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge hit back-to-back home runs off the right-hander, but he settled in from there.

“I like to think that’s one of the things that I do pretty well, kind of keep it level out there, and keep everything under control,” Hagenman said following the Mets’ 6-5 win. “Obviously that’s not the start you want to get off to, but you just know that the best pitches are ahead of you. Good hitters hit good pitches, so you’ve got to going to keep going and try to give the team as much as you can out there.

“That’s obviously what I’m what I’m here for is to give some innings to the team.”

Huascar Brazobán earned the win with an inning of scoreless relief (4-2), and right-hander Reed Garrett went two innings for a six-out save. The Mets didn’t have closer Edwin Diaz available after he pitched on back-to-back days, and left-hander Richard Lovelady was ready in the bullpen in the ninth.

Mendoza weighed his options and trusted Garrett, which was bold of him considering the journeyman reliever had posted an ERA over 15.00 over the last two weeks. The two had a conversation the SNY cameras captured in the dugout following the eighth inning. Not wanting to be taken out of the game, Garrett tried to avoid the manager, but Mendoza simply wanted to check in to see how he was feeling physically.

“We’ve asked a lot of him as of late,” Mendoza said. “[I told him,] ‘Give me everything you’ve got here.’ Once he said that he was good to go, I just said, ‘Hey man, go one batter at a time here. Let me make the other decisions, but go out there and give me everything you’ve got.’ That was pretty much what I told him.”

Garrett got help from Jeff McNeil in the ninth, with the second baseman diving to stop a hard ground ball from D.J. LeMahieu, the No. 9 hitter, and throwing him out at first. Had the ball gotten through for a single, Aaron Judge would have represented the winning run.

“He’s one batter closer to the big boy there,” Mendoza said. “There’s a potential move too if they pinch-hit or not. It forces me to bring a lefty who was ready there, but then you have to make some tough decisions. I’m glad he made that play. He completely changed the whole inning.”

It was a huge bounce-back outing for Garrett, and it spelled the bullpen. Though he wasn’t thinking about Judge, he’s happy to have avoided facing the reigning AL MVP this time around.

“They have a lot of really good players over there, but I think for me, the biggest thing was just trying to slow it down and execute one at a time,” Garrett said. “I didn’t have to face him today, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have to face him again some other time.”

The Mets still don’t have a starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale, but if they can stay away from left-hander Brandon Waddell on Saturday, they can pitch Waddell as a bulk guy. Realistically, Sunday will have to be a bullpen game.

Raley is currently on a rehab assignment with Double-A Binghamton and is expected to return in the next month, and the Mets could get two starters back after the All-Star break, if not sooner. Kodai Senga will make a rehab start with Double-A on Saturday, and Sean Manaea will make his final rehab start Tuesday. The Mets had hoped to have Manaea back by now, but two setbacks have pushed his timeline back further.

“We’re not going to sit here and feel sorry for ourselves, nobody will,” Mendoza said Friday morning. “I said it last night, I’ve said it the whole time, our job is to go out there and find a way to win a baseball game. Our mentality is, what do we need to get through today? We’re facing a lot of adversity, but everyone goes through it.

“So here we are, beginning of a Subway Series, and our job, like I said, is go out there, compete and win a baseball game.”

TRANSACTION NOTE

The Mets signed left-hander Colin Poche to a one-year contract on Friday after designating him for assignment last week.