The Yankees started Saturday having lost three consecutive games and sitting in fourth place in the AL East for the first time in over six weeks.

Then they went out and played like the team that was expected to contend for the AL East title.

They hit three homers — including the first multi-homer game from Giancarlo Stanton in more than a year — and received another solid performance from Gerrit Cole in a 6-3 win over the Cubs in The Bronx.

It was a much-needed change for the Yankees, who had lost three in a row with the All-Star break coming after the series finale Sunday against Chicago.

The day began with manager Aaron Boone defending what has been a disappointing offense, especially with Aaron Judge on the injured list.

Saying he remained “confident” in his hitters, Boone acknowledged the need for improvement.

“I hope on the other side, they get a little hot together,’’ Boone said of the offense. “We’re in July, the middle of the season. We have to get it right. We have to figure it out.”

For a day, at least, they did against lefty Drew Smyly.

Stanton got them going in the first inning when, with two out, he hit a mammoth, 447-foot solo home run off the top of the mezzanine in left field.

The 118.1-mph shot was just his second homer since June 13.

Cole, meanwhile, improved to 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA in eight starts following Yankee losses.

The Yankees have won all eight of those games.

He retired the first five batters he faced before a two-out walk to Christopher Morel in the second inning was followed by a Yan Gomes flare single to right that gave the Cubs runners on first and third for Trey Mancini.

But Cole retired Mancini on a hard shot to second to preserve the one-run lead.

Josh Donaldson made it 2-0 with another solo home run, golfing one into the season the seats in left with one out in the second inning.

It gave Donaldson, serving as the DH, 10 homers on just 14 hits this season.

It also was his fourth homer — and seventh extra-base hit — off Smyly in 21 career at-bats.

DJ LeMahieu, like Donaldson and Stanton in the midst of a worrisome slump, followed with a double, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out looking and Cody Bellinger robbed Jose Trevino of an RBI single with a sliding grab of his fly ball to shallow center.

Miles Mastrobuoni doubled against Cole to open the third inning and moved to third base on Mike Tauchman’s grounder.

Nico Hoerner then hit a hard comeback toward the mound, which Cole grabbed at with his bare hand.

The ball deflected off his hand and Gleyber Torres made the play, but Mastrobuoni scored.

Cole waved off medical attention and got out of the inning.

Torres singled with one out in the bottom of the inning and Stanton walked before Anthony Rizzo’s soft liner went over Mancini at first to load the bases.

Harrison Bader then ripped a double down the left field line to drive in two and make it 4-1.

A walk to Donaldson loaded the bases, but LeMahieu grounded into a double play.

Stanton and the Yankees piled on in the fifth inning, when he hit his ninth homer of the year, poking it off the foul pole just over the short porch in right against right-hander Michael Rucker.

It was Stanton’s first multi-homer game since May of last season.

And it buoyed a Yankees offense that was coming off being shut out for the fourth time this season, with just four runs in the previous three games.

Cole was excellent until the eighth inning, when he allowed a two-run homer to Tauchman, the former Yankee.

His 7 ¹/₃-inning outing matched his second-longest of the season.