The Yankees lost three of four heading into Sunday and face the unenviable task of hosting the Astros this week, who will throw Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel at them.

So to avoid their first real rough patch since the season’s opening weeks, the Yankees were in need of a victory over the Angels — and Masahiro Tanaka delivered in a 3-1 win in The Bronx.

Tanaka came up with his best start in a month, limiting the Angels to one run on three hits over six innings.

“We needed an outing like that from him,’’ said Aaron Boone, who has seen much of his rotation fail to last deep into games of late.

And while Tanaka’s six-inning performance was hardly flirting with a complete game, it followed a string of five games in which only one Yankees starter, Luis Severino, lasted past the fifth inning.

For Tanaka, it came after three shaky outings in which he had surrendered five homers and 11 earned runs in 15 ¹/₃ innings.

On Sunday, he was more aggressive early in counts and used his fastball more. It resulted in him striking out eight — as many as he had in his previous three starts combined.

“It was definitely one of the better ones in recent outings,” Tanaka said through an interpreter. “To be able to win in a small-margin game like this is good.”

Since the Angels decided to push back Shohei Ohtani’s start, the two Japanese stars didn’t duel on the mound, but Tanaka struck out the DH twice and walked him once.

Tanaka also held Mike Trout hitless — whiffing him twice, as well — after he went 5-for-5 Saturday.

“I watched the game [Saturday] night and witnessed the type of damage he put on us,” Tanaka said. “He is the key batter in that lineup. You can’t let him beat us.”

The pitching performance, which also included a shutout inning each from David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman, allowed the Yankees’ three-run third to hold up for the victory.

The Yankees were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in the first three innings but still got to Garrett Richards for three runs in the third, despite getting just one hit in the inning.

Richards, who gave up nine runs in just 1 ²/₃ innings against the Yankees on April 28 in Anaheim, was bad again, walking five, giving up three hits and throwing three wild pitches in 2 ¹/₃ innings.

A single by Aaron Judge and walks by Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius loaded the bases with one out.

Aaron Hicks walked to force in Judge and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. At that point, Richards finally got the hook, and Jose Alvarez came on and promptly drilled Greg Bird to push another run across. Miguel Andujar’s groundout scored Gregorius to make it 3-0.

Tanaka gave up a homer to Andrelton Simmons with one out in the sixth before Robertson pitched a scoreless seventh and Betances was brought in to start the eighth. He walked Zack Cozart but got Trout to ground out and Simmons to hit into an inning-ending double play.

“I know Mike a little bit from covering him and I really like him,” Boone said of Trout, who had three doubles and a homer Saturday. “But I can’t stand seeing him walk up to the plate now. Even if you execute pitches with a guy like him, sometimes it doesn’t even matter.”

Now Trout is gone and the Yankees’ next challenge — after pulling back within a game of the Red Sox in the AL East — will be facing the Astros.