HOUSTON _ Gary Sanchez had felt a tightness in his calves, which kept him out of the Yankees starting lineup on Wednesday night.
If this had been a playoff series, the slugging catcher would've started.
But thoughts about October couldn't be further away, with 150 games to go and the Yankees battling so much turbulence just after takeoff.
Sanchez wound up striking out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, ending a late Yankees rally with the tying run on second base.
Two more home runs by Jose Altuve boosted the Astros to an 8-6 win, punctuating a three-game sweep before 27,685 fans at Minute Maid Park.
Altuve homered in each Astros win, hitting four over a series that showed the Yankees just how vulnerable they are, just a dozen games into the 2019 season.
After Masahiro Tanaka, the rotation has been lacking. Their bullpen has been leaking, and the lineup can be lackluster with so many bold-faced names on the injured list.
Starter James Paxton's pitch count soared as he failed to complete five innings.
Reliever Tommy Kahnle retired just one of the five batters he faced, and the Astros (8-5) were off toward their sixth straight win.
And after sweeping a three-game series at Baltimore, the Yankees (5-7) finished a .500 road trip with more questions than answers.
What's going on with Sanchez?
"I feel fine, just a little tight in my legs," Sanchez said through a translator before Wednesday's game.
"But I'll be ready at any moment in the game. If I need to come in and hit, I'll be ready."
That moment came with two out in the eighth, after the Yankees scored four times off Houston's bullpen, cutting the lead to 7-6.
Luke Voit hit a two-run homer off Josh James, DJ LeMahieu (double) and Clint Frazier (sac fly) drove in runs against Hector Rondon and Sanchez was summoned to bat for Tyler Wade.
In came Ryan Pressly, who got Sanchez chasing at strike three.
Sanchez had seemed assured a full day's rest as the Astros tallied four times in the fifth inning, handing a 7-2 lead to Houston starter Colin McHugh (2-1).
Given that Thursday is a team off day, Sanchez expects to return to the lineup for Friday's weekend series opener against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium.
"I want to make sure we're being smart about this," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the game of benching his current leading home run hitter, with six in his first 10 games.
"Obviously he's so important to what we do," said Boone, who referenced his already injury-plagued lineup. "(We're) being proactive and making sure this doesn't become a problem.
"If we lose him for an extended period, that hurts a lot more," Boone said.
Brett Gardner jumped on McHugh's third pitch of the game for a leadoff home run.
It was more than a symbolic way of turning the page, following the Yankees' forgettable play in a mistake-filled 6-3 loss on Tuesday night.
"We need to clean up and play better baseball," Gardner said after that game, bearing his own share of that responsibility.
"When you are playing a team as good as the Astros, you can't afford to give away outs and you can't afford to make mistakes. They'll come back to haunt you."
Paxton quickly gave up two runs in Wednesday's first inning, on a solo homer by Altuve _ overturned on replay after being ruled a double on the field _ and an RBI triple by Yuli Gurriel on a sinking drive that evaded Gardner's diving attempt in center.
Ultimately, Paxton (1-2) was charged with five runs on eight hits and three walks.
Tommy Kahnle entered in the fifth and instantly gave up a two-run homer by Carlos Correa, a fuel-on-the-fire appearance that led to Joe Harvey's MLB debut that same inning.
Houston tacked on an insurance run in the eighth against Zack Britton, who has not looked sharp in the early going.
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