ANAHEIM, Calif. — If given truth serum, the Yankees collectively might take a hard pass on being off on Thursday.

After all, considering the way the Yankees are playing, what better way to go into this weekend’s World Series rematch against the Dodgers?

The Yankees, behind more brilliant starting pitching and a pieced-together effort from a bullpen that had, because of recent overuse, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams on Aaron Boone’s no-fly list, completed a three-game sweep of the Angels with a 1-0 victory in front of 36,808 at Angel Stadium.

The Yankees (35-20), who have won 16 of their last 20 games, including five straight, are off Thursday before starting a three-game set against the Dodgers Friday night at Dodger Stadium. It was there where they dropped the first two games of last October’s World Series (which the Yankees lost in five games).

The Yankees, who stranded 10, managed just one run, it coming on a first-inning sacrifice fly by Anthony Volpe. But the pitching staff made it stand up.

Clarke Schmidt, thrilled not to be pitching in the thin air of Colorado, was terrific, allowing four hits and one walk over six scoreless innings in which he struck out four.

Ryan Yarbrough, Carlos Rodon and Schmidt combined to allow one run over 19 innings of this series, more highlights for a rotation that brought an MLB-best 2.61 ERA into the night over its previous 39 starts.

Ian Hamilton, who hauled a 5.51 ERA into Wednesday, recorded five outs in the seventh and eighth innings before, with a runner on second, lefty Tim Hill got Joe Adell to ground out on his first pitch to end the eighth.

Boone, preferring to stay away from Weaver, who threw a combined 46 pitches between outings Sunday and Monday, and Williams, who threw 19 pitches in a shaky save on Tuesday, went with Mark Leiter Jr. in the ninth Wednesday. Leiter, flashing a nasty splitter and curveball, made it 23 of 26 outings this season in which he did not allow a run, striking out two and walking one in recording his second save.

Angels lefthander Yusei Kikuchi came in, a Yankees tormentor over the years, 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 appearances (13 starts). He battled command issues but limited the damage, allowing one run, four hits and five walks over five innings.
The Yankees made him throw 27 pitches in the first.

Paul Goldschmidt, who came slashing a ridiculous .533/.625/.933 against lefty pitching this season, led off and slashed a full-count slider down the rightfield line for a double. After Trent Grisham struck out, the Angels intentionally walked Aaron Judge. Cody Bellinger walked to load the bases and Volpe’s sacrifice fly to center made it 1-0. Jasson Dominguez reached on an infield single to reload the bases but LeMahieu, swinging at a first-pitch curveball, flied to center.

The Yankees loaded the bases again in the second. Backup catcher J.C. Escarra, who had a career-high three hits in his previous start Sunday in Denver, singled sharply to right. Oswald Peraza, who homered Tuesday night, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Goldschmidt walked, Grisham stroked a double down the leftfield line and Judge was intentionally walked for the second straight inning. Bellinger, however, couldn’t deliver the big hit, flying softly to left.

Through two innings, the Yankees had four hits, including two doubles and four walks with little to show for it.

The Angels threatened in the bottom half. Former Yankee prospect Jorge Soler led off with a single and, with Sayville’s Logan O’Hoppe at the plate, went to second on a wild pitch. O’Hoppe, who ranks fourth in the AL with 14 homers, walked. But Schmidt struck out former Met Travis d’Arnaud swinging at a 93-mph cutter, Chris Taylor swinging on an 87-mph sweeper and got Luis Rengifo to bounce to Goldschmidt at first to end the 24-pitch inning.

The Yankees continued to drive up Kikuchi’s pitch count by putting base runners on — nine over three innings and forcing him to throw 93 pitches through five innings — and the pitcher was gone after five. But he never broke, departing with the Yankees still ahead 1-0.

Schmidt, meanwhile, cruised into the sixth having allowed four hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

Nolan Schanuel led off the sixth with a hard-hit ball, but it died at the track in the glove of Grisham in center. Soft contact followed as Kevin Newman flied to short right and Taylor Ward popped to first, leaving Schmidt at 99 pitches through six.