Is there anything the Yankees have not accomplished this season as they crush baseballs and opponents and continue to wreck those “on pace” projections that captivate the imagination? 

Why, yes. Prior to this week, the Yankees had not yet confronted the team that haunts their recent playoff history. They had not come face-to-face with the franchise that stained Major League Baseball with a cheating scandal that had a dastardly effect on the Yankees. 

Before Thursday night, the Yankees and Astros had not met on the field this season, and the start of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium came at precisely the best time for the most dominant team in baseball. 

The Yankees, in the midst of playing 20 games in 20 days, arrived home early Thursday morning after their 5-4 comeback victory over the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. Tired? Dragging? Not with the Astros in town. 

“I think it’s a shot-in-the-arm series in a tough stretch,’’ manager Aaron Boone said. “Yankee Stadium’s gonna be energized and hopefully we feed off that a little bit. You’re going up against a great opponent and a rivalry that certainly exists that has to do with some past things too. I think our guys look forward to that and like playing on the biggest stages against the best teams.’’ 

The Astros came into the series with the second-best record (43-25) in the American League, owning a fat 10-game lead in the AL West. The Yankees (51-18) were nearly out of sight in the AL East, with a 12-game lead over the Blue Jays to start the day. Nothing that happens in this series will tell the tale about either team, but there is little doubt facing the Astros for the first time this season will bring emotions to the surface, for the Yankees and for their fans, who figure to be in full throat. 

Three times in the past seven years, the Astros eliminated the Yankees from the postseason. The 2017 ALCS was respectful, riveting and won by the Astros in seven games. Two years later, Jose Altuve sent the Yankees home in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS with a two-run, home run off Aroldis Chapman, ensuring that the Yankees would not make the World Series in the decade of the 2010s, the first time since the 1910s there were no Yankees pinstripes in the Fall Classic. The Astros went on to win the World Series, beating the Dodgers in seven games. 

Weeks after the 2019 season ended, with the Nationals beating the Astros in a seven-game World Series, stunning revelations surfaced detailing Houston’s 2017 sign-stealing scandal. Those disclosures rocked MLB, left the Astros’ success permanently marred and fueled ire and anger among the Yankees, who felt they had been cheated in their ACLS loss two years earlier. 

Aaron Judge, who finished second to Altuve in the American League MVP voting, did not mince words, at the time saying the scandal made him “sick to my stomach’’ and admitting he lost all respect for the Astros’ achievements. 

“They cheated,’’ Judge said. 

Last season, the Astros felt the venom of Yankees fans, but the series in May 2021 was played in front of only 20 percent capacity because of COVID-19 restrictions. This series promised to unleash the full wrath of the fans in The Bronx. 

Boone said he considers the angst over the cheating scandal “past history,’’ but that opinion is unlikely to spare the Astros over the series. 

“I think that’s been one of the cool things about Yankee Stadium, especially so far this year, is we’ve had some really good environments and atmospheres,’’ Boone said. “I would certainly expect that coming off a road trip that we’ll walk out there and it will be pretty energized. Hopefully that gives us a good shot in the arm.’’ 

The series could be a preview of an upcoming playoff series. The Astros came in with the best bullpen ERA (2.55) in the majors and Altuve at second base and Yordan Alvarez at designated hitter were the leading vote-getters at their positions in All-Star balloting. 

“They’re complete,’’ Boone said of the Astros. “Outstanding depth in their bullpen, really good starting pitching, they catch the ball, they’re athletic and they got a great offense. They’re a complete team, probably as complete a team as we’ve played. You know it’s gonna be a challenge.’’