MLB

Yankees slip past awful Astros

The Yankees took two of three from the worst team in baseball so they avoided the embarrassment of being on the other end of that deal and having to answer how they could lose to the Astros.

Yet, anybody who watched all three games can’t honestly believe the Yankees are ready for the varsity portion of their schedule coming up this weekend when the A’s visit Yankee Stadium.

Thanks to Lyle Overbay’s smart baserunning in the sixth inning the Yankees scored a run and posted a 5-4 victory Wednesday night in front of an announced Stadium crowd of 34,117.

Presented a chance to show the Yankees’ brass he deserves to be a starter with Ivan Nova on the disabled list, David Phelps had four effective innings and one nightmare frame in which he gave up four runs and let a 4-0 lead vanish in his first start of the season.

“It’s a good opportunity. We love what he has done over the last couple of years,’’ manager Joe Girardi said of Phelps before the Yankees’ sixth win in seven games. “Whether it’s been in the rotation or in the bullpen. He has really learned a lot and prepared well.’’

The Yankees used Eduardo Nunez’s leadoff double in the sixth to break a 4-4 tie.

Nunez moved to third on a wild pitch by Paul Clemens and scored ahead of the Astros completing a 4-3-6 inning-ending double play that resulted in Overbay, who stopped when the ball was hit to second baseman Jose Altuva, being tagged out at second after Nunez scored.

Boone Logan, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera provided scoreless relief. Rivera posted his 11th save in 11 chances.

Robertson appeared to limp off the mound after recording the final out — a grounder to the right side — in the eighth.

Erik Bedard, who is in the conversation for the worst starting pitcher in baseball, lasted four innings, allowed four runs, six hits and walked four.

As bad as those numbers were they were an improvement from Bedard’s previous outing when he lasted three innings and gave up five runs and eight hits to the Red Sox.

In six games (five starts) Bedard is 0-2 with an 8.20 ERA.

Thanks to inducing Chris Carter to bang into a 6-4-3 double play in the second, Phelps faced the minimum nine hitters across three innings.

The fourth inning, however, was a different deal because the Astros scored four runs and tied the score, 4-4.

Phelps gave up four hits and hit two batters but fanned Robbie Grossman to end the rally with two runners on.

After leaving the bases loaded in the second, the Yankees used the home run to score twice in the third and hike the lead to 4-0.

Robinson Cano led off by hitting a 0-2 pitch from Bedard into the right-field seats for his eighth homer. With two outs the struggling Ben Francisco swatted a 2-0 pitch over the left-field wall for his first home run as a Yankee.

The Yankees scored a run in each of the opening two innings but easily should have had more.

Ichiro Suzuki greeted Bedard with a leadoff triple and scored on Jayson Nix’s single to left. Bedard killed the rally by feeding Cano a 4-6-3 double play grounder and retired Vernon Wells on a stress-free fly to center.

Bedard started the second inning by walking Travis Hafner, Francisco and Nunez. Nevertheless, the best the Yankees could do was one run on Chris Stewart’s sacrifice fly with one out. Suzuki’s infield single re-loaded the bases for Nix but he popped out.

george.king@nypost.com