NEW YORK — Pedro Grifol endured a 10-game losing streak during his first month as a major league manager.

That’s going to leave a mark.

“Obviously I did not enjoy that at all,” Grifol said before the White Sox extended their winning streak to a season-high four games against the Yankees Tuesday. “I didn’t enjoy 7-21, whatever we started.”

Yes, 7-21.

“Did not enjoy that.”

But the Sox (27-35), after a 3-2 win behind six innings of no-hit ball from right-hander Lucas Giolito and two home runs from catcher Seby Zavala, have won 20 of their last 34 and five of six. They trail the first-place Twins by 4 ¹⁄₂ games in the weak AL Central. It feels like they’re climbing, slowly and perhaps surely.

“You know what I’m enjoying? I’m enjoying the climb,” Grifol said. “I’m enjoying getting better and playing better.”

The Sox are far from a finished product. They must be more selective at the plate, Grifol said and go for the jugular on the mound.

“If we swing at good pitches, we’re going to do some damage,” he said. “So we have to get better at not chasing. We’ve got to find a way. We’re constantly searching for that. They’re searching for it, we are too. We’re searching for it together.”

Zavala didn’t chase when he lofted a solo homer near the 314-foot sign at the right-field pole in the first against Yankees righty Clarke Schmidt and homered again in the fifth, a two-run shot that carried 435 feet.

Pitchers still need to be better when they get ahead in counts, Grifol said.

“You almost can’t allow slugging in [0-2 and 1-2] those counts,” Grifol said. “You fight to get to 0–2, 1-2, you’ve got to put guys away. But we’re better at it.”

“And the amount of quality starts we’ve had in the past six weeks have been really, really nice.”

Giolito’s was the latest. He struck out seven and walked three but with his pitch count at 100, was pulled after six innings.

And as Grifol said, the bullpen is “shaping up.” Kendall Graveman’s eighth inning was his 14th in a row without allowing a run. And Liam Hendriks, after getting the win in relief Sunday, pitched the ninth for his first save — despite giving up a leadoff homer to Josh Donaldson — since coming back from cancer.

Defensively, “we’ve got to get better at preventing 90 feet, free bases at 90 feet,” Grifol said. “Stolen base, we’ve got to get better at holding, eliminating attempts. We’ve got to get better at that. There’s a hell of a lot of things we’ve got to get better. These are things we have to improve on.’’

Center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who usually catches everything, gave away 180 feet when he let Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s two-out fly fall between himself and left fielder Andrew Benintendi for the Yankees’ first hit against Joe Kelly. It scored Willie Calhoun (walk) from first to make it 3-1.

Fans and media have pinned the Sox’ woes on ownership and the front office above Grifol, who is playing the cards he was dealt. His job is not in jeopardy — not even close — but he knows managers are hired to be fired.

“Have I thought about it? I think that’s only human, right?” he said. “To think about it once in a while. But I don’t think about it like, ‘oh, I might go to the ballpark and get fired tomorrow.’ The thought that goes through your mind is like, damn how long am I going to be allowed to do this? I just started to do this and I love what I do. So that crosses your mind.”