(Photo credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images)

The New York Yankees experienced a four-game blip with their pitching last week when they were unable to consistently record outs against the Los Angeles Angels.

The pitching has corrected itself during sweeps of the Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox, and the Yankees are on a six-game winning streak as their pitchers will attempt to keep MLB home run leader Yordan Alvarez's bat quiet in Friday night's opener of a three-game series in Houston.

The Yankees enter with an MLB-best 3.07 ERA. Since allowing 32 runs and settling for a four-game split against the Angels, the Yankees are pitching to a 1.17 ERA in their current winning streak.

New York followed its sweep of the visiting Royals last weekend by allowing three runs in a three-game sweep at Boston. The Yankees secured a 4-2 victory on Thursday when Cody Bellinger delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single in the seventh inning after the lineup struck out 11 times in the first six innings against Boston rookie Payton Tolle.

'Wins are precious any time of year, especially within the division,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Bellinger is batting .325 (13-for-40) over his past 11 games, and his hit on Thursday occurred on a night when Cam Schlittler was efficient in getting through eight innings after Max Fried pitched eight innings on Wednesday. The Yankees also had Luis Gil pitch 6 1/3 innings on Tuesday and Ryan Weathers 7 1/3 innings on Sunday.

Houston owns the AL's third-worst record behind the Royals and Red Sox, but not because of Alvarez. He leads the majors with a .347 batting average, 11 homers, 26 RBIs and an OPS of 1.245.

The Astros won two of three games on the road against the Cleveland Guardians after dropping 12 of 14 contests as Alvarez drove in five runs in the series. After Houston blew a late lead on Tuesday in an 8-5 loss, Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the first inning of a 2-0 victory on Wednesday.

'To be honest, 2026 Yordan is the closest I've seen to Barry Bonds,' Houston shortstop Carlos Correa said. 'Definitely, this version of him is the best. I haven't missed one swing of his all year because he's must-watch.

'It's almost like you expect him to make an out at some point because this game is so hard, but he just keeps raking.'

After the deep outings by Fried and Schlittler at Boston, Yankees right-hander Will Warren (2-0, 2.49 ERA) will open the series in Houston and is coming off one of the best outings of his career.

Warren last pitched Saturday in a 13-4 win over Kansas City and allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. He also tied a career high by getting 11 strikeouts and notched double-digit strikeouts for the third time in his career.

Warren's only career start against the Astros occurred on Sept. 3, 2025, in Houston when he allowed two runs on five hits in five innings of a no-decision in New York's 8-7 loss.

Houston's 5.81 ERA is the worst in the majors, and Lance McCullers Jr. (1-1, 6.20) will open the series. McCullers has allowed 10 runs in 9 1/3 innings during his past two starts and took the loss Saturday when he allowed four runs on five hits in five innings of a 7-5 defeat to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

McCullers is 2-0 with a 2.97 ERA in five regular-season starts against the Yankees.

--Field Level Media