HOUSTON — First test, passed.
Barely.
With another one to come starting Friday night.
The Yankees, who have heard all season about their struggles against teams with winning records — their record reflects that — bounced back from a brutal loss to the Astros on Wednesday night with a knee-knocking 8-4 victory on Thursday night at Daikin Field to take two of three from the AL West leaders.
The Yankees (78-62), who have won 16 of their last 22 games, return home Friday to start a three-game series against the AL East-leading Blue Jays. The Yankees trail Toronto, which was off on Thursday, by three games and inched a half-game ahead of Boston, also off on Thursday, for the league’s top wild-card spot.
It was a second straight out-of-its-mind game at Daikin Field, one in which Yankees sec