NEW YORK _ A rearranged lineup didn't make much difference against Justin Verlander on Monday afternoon.
But the Yankees are in good company in that regard.
Few teams have found the right combination this season against Verlander, whom Aaron Boone earlier in the day said is "throwing the ball as well as anyone in the sport right now."
That continued a few hours later as the 35-year-old right-hander dominated over 6 2/3 innings of a 5-1 loss to the Astros in front of a sellout crowd of 46,583 at the Stadium.
The Yankees (33-17), in losing for the fourth time in six games, dropped two games behind the Red Sox in the AL East.
Verlander, who struck out 14 Yankees over eight shutout innings May 1 and came in 6-2 with a 1.08 ERA, allowed one run and five hits. He struck out five and did not walk a batter.
"We know today we'll have our hands full," said Boone, who sent out a lineup that included rookie Gleyber Torres hitting fifth, slumping Giancarlo Stanton getting the day off and skidding Didi Gregorius dropped to seventh.
Verlander took a 4-0 lead into the seventh before Greg Bird hit his first homer of the season, a shot to right, to make it 4-1. Verlander retired the next two batters, but Gregorius, who came in mired in a 4-for-70 slump, singled for the second time in the game. In came righty Will Harris to face Miguel Andujar. Gregorius stole second, but the reliever struck out Andujar with a full-count curveball.
After Jose Altuve homered off A.J. Cole in the eighth to make it 5-1, Chris Devenski allowed a leadoff single to Neil Walker in the eighth but struck out two of the next three batters. Ken Giles allowed a leadoff single to Bird in the ninth and nothing else.
Yankees rookie Domingo German (0-3) entered the day having allowed six earned runs in each of his last two starts but pitched better than that against the Astros (35-20). German allowed four runs (three earned) and five hits over 5 2/3 innings. The big blow was J.D. Davis' three-run homer in the second.
An unearned run in the fourth, which followed an error by Torres, who had an overall adventurous afternoon, made it 4-0.
The Yankees threatened in the bottom half of the second but a mistake by Torres on the bases short-circuited the inning.
After Bird struck out, Torres fought off a pair of 1-and-2 pitches before lining a curveball to center for the Yankees' first hit. Aaron Hicks then was hit by a pitch, putting two on for Gregorius.
The shortstop extended his skid to 4-for-71 with a flyout to center and Torres, who hasn't made many mental mistakes since being called up April 22, made a big one, getting picked off by Verlander to end the inning.
