GameObject Changes Z Position on Sprite Change

So, basically, I have 2D sprite that moves across the screen. It’s Z position is set to -10 so that it overlaps other 2D objects in the scene. When the sprite is hit with a missile, it changes to an animation for the explosion. When this happens, the Z Position drops to 0.1 and falls behind most of the objects on the screen.
I have attempted FreezePositionZ and have set it to reposition back to -10 when the sprite animation changes but it ignores these commands.

Any other ideas?

You need to delete the Z axis position curve in the animation of the game object.