The Yankees finally appeared to be playing like the team they expected to be, steeling themselves for an uphill push in the second half. Yet their ninth-inning collapse on Sunday at Minute Maid Park showcased just how difficult the grind back into playoff contention will be.

In a game that featured several Yankees wearing jackets, a reference to Aaron Judge's troll-job this weekend in which he claimed the stadium was "chilly," Jose Altuve got the last laugh. The Astros infielder launched a walk-off, three-run homer to cap a six-run ninth inning, handing New York a stunning 8-7 defeat.

"You couldn't have written down a more crazy script for a game to end," said the Yankees' Jameson Taillon. "With it being Altuve; I know the history here. This loss sucks. It's definitely wild that Altuve came through in that spot."

The Yankees did not trail until the moment that Altuve golfed a curveball into the Crawford Boxes above the left-field scoreboard. Altuve's shirt came off at home plate, seemingly a response to Judge, who had pinched the front of his jersey on Saturday to mimic Altuve's "too shy" home run trot from the 2019 playoffs.

Major League clubs are 493-2 when leading by four or more runs entering the ninth inning this season; the Yankees are responsible for both losses, having also melted down on June 30 against the Angels. Manager Aaron Boone called the game "another gut punch" in a season marked by his team's inconsistency.

"We've had a number of those in the first half, and we've gotten off the mat each and every time," Boone said. "We've got to do it again. We understand what's at stake. As well as we played this week, to not finish it off right there is difficult. But we've got to rally from the adversity."

Beginning his third inning of relief, Domingo Germán permitted hits to the first two hitters, prompting Boone to call upon Chad Green -- and, notably, bypassing closer Aroldis Chapman. Boone said that he was looking for a lower-leverage situation to get the struggling Chapman a clean inning.

Chas McCormick greeted Green with a two-run double, Abraham Toro raked an RBI double and Jason Castro legged out a pinch-hit single before Altuve's homer.

"It was just one of those days where I didn't really have much out there," Green said. "I train in the offseason for days like this. I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. They put some good swings on balls. It just didn't go my way."

Oh, so close
Up until the ninth inning, it had been a banner series for the pitching staff. Building off the performances by Nestor Cortes Jr. and Gerrit Cole in the first two games, Taillon continued to show signs of improvement, having reduced his ERA from 5.59 to 4.90 over his last four starts.

Martín Maldonado homered in the third inning and Kyle Tucker stroked a solo shot in the sixth off Taillon, who scattered three hits while walking two and striking out four. The Astros were held to two runs through the first 26 innings of the series.

"It's part of what makes baseball beautiful: you can't kneel the ball and run out the clock," Taillon said. "You have to get the final out."

New York produced three runs (two earned) in four innings off Framber Valdez, who largely went unpunished for six walks. Gleyber Torres stroked a third-inning grounder past shortstop Robel García for a run-scoring error and Tim Locastro answered Maldonado's drive to right field with one of his own.

Torres cashed a run-scoring single in the sixth that chased Valdez, then walked and stole second base in the seventh to set up Gio Urshela's RBI single. Gary Sánchez's 15th homer padded that advantage even further, though in hindsight, the Yankees could have done more with 14 walks -- an Astros franchise record.

"You've got a five-run lead in the ninth and a chance to sweep a great team, and they come back to leave you standing," Boone said. "That hurts a lot."

Break point
Judge, Cole and Chapman will represent the Yankees at the All-Star Game on Tuesday at Coors Field, while the rest of the roster will re-assemble on Friday in New York for the opener of a four-game series with the division-leading Red Sox.

Eight of the Yankees' next 10 games are against Boston, with New York visiting Fenway Park from July 22-25. With the Yanks having dropped all six contests against the Red Sox thus far in 2021, the showdowns promise to be a bellwether for their chances of catching up in the division race.

"The positive takeaway is that we're playing well," Boone said. "We need to understand that there's a lot of good things happening. That doesn't take the sting away from today, but it's great to win series. We've got to move on from it and understand that the stretch we're about to embark on is too important."