The Yankees, of all things, must emulate the team they hate the most — the 2017 Astros.

It is lost to time … and scandal … but Houston was 11-17 (.393) in August 2017, the worst August winning percentage in history for a team that would go on to win the World Series.

The 2017 Astros had advantages the 2022 Yankees do not. There were waiver trades still allowed through Aug. 31, and on the last day of the month Houston obtained Justin Verlander from Detroit. Also, they were — you know — cheating.

So maybe the 1996 Yankees need to be this current group’s touchstone. Because that club went 13-17 in August and nearly blew all of what was a 12-game late-July lead. Yet, of the three times the Yankees won a World Series despite a losing August (also 1958 and 1962), the 1996 team had the worst winning percentage (.433) in that month.

The 2022 squad is worse — worse even than the 2017 Astros. With a 3-2 loss to the Angels on Wednesday, the Yankees fell to 10-18 in August. After an off-day Thursday, they will begin September with six of their first 10 games against the Rays, which not long ago hardly mattered. Tampa Bay was 15 ¹/₂ games out of first place after the games of July 11. The Rays’ deficit is down to six games now, five in the loss column.

A six-game lead entering September should be comfortable. But not with the way the Yankees are playing and not with ignominy now possible. Because if the Rays capture the AL East, they will have made up the most games ever to win a division.

The current record is the 15-game deficit the 1914 Boston Braves faced through July 4 before rallying to win the World Series — thus becoming known as the Miracle Braves. The second largest was the 14 games the 1978 Yankees made up on the Red Sox after July 19 — fueled, in part, by the Boston Massacre.

The 1978 Yankees represent one of eight times the Yankees played at least .700 ball in August and won the World Series. Ten of the last 11 World Series winners have played at least .536 ball in August and six of the last seven have played at least .679 — all but the 2017 Astros (keep in mind that in 2020, August was essentially the first month in a pandemic season). Also bear in mind that .679 ball over a full season equates to 110 wins.

August provides a strong snapshot of who a team is. It has had four months to define itself. It has had four months to wither from the season and show its depth of talent and character. It has had a trade deadline to try to address shortcomings. And pretty much any top prospect that is being summoned has been.

The 2022 Yankees failed August. But more concerning is this has gone on longer than that. They reached their high-water mark (38 over .500) on July 8 (61-23). They had the AL’s best record at that moment and were second best in the majors to the Dodgers. Los Angeles has the best record since then, too (36-10). But the Yankees were just 18-29 — the other five teams currently in an AL playoff spot were all at least eight games over .500 in the same time frame. That represents more than a quarter of a season of below-par performance for the Yankees.

The dreadful August falls mainly on the offense. The defense has remained mostly good, though it cost them significantly in Wednesday’s loss. The pitching, even with lots of injuries and disjointed performance, still had a 3.79 ERA entering Wednesday. But the offense was hitting a combined .223 with a .656 OPS before managing just three hits and two runs in losing the rubber game to the Angels.

There are a lot of culprits, but Aaron Hicks (who lost his job) and especially DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres have been atrocious. The Yankees count on that trio to have good at-bats — to provide both on-base percentage and some power. But the length of the lineup has disintegrated with their offensive absence and Giancarlo Stanton not hitting well off the IL. Thus, the batting order has never been more of a one-man band than now. Aaron Judge sported a 1.104 OPS in August going into Wednesday — fourth in the majors (minimum 100 plate appearances). The rest of the Yankees were at .605.

It is all part of a month to forget for the Yankees. Can they pull it together to still make 2022 a year to positively remember?