Surprisingly, it's Yankees' pitching staff that's responsible for strong start

You can talk about the science and psychology of pitching, how players feed off each other, and how minute adjustments can lead to big results. But sometimes, keeping it simple works, and simply put, the Yankees pitching staff has taken a question mark and turned it into an exclamation point.

When Gerrit Cole went down with elbow inflammation during spring training, there was a general idea that if the Yankees were going to struggle early on, it would be due to their lack of pitching depth. Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon were coming off injury-shortened years where they underperformed, their one major upgrade was Marcus Stroman, and there was some concern about who would reliably occupy the fifth spot in the rotation.

But, in the grand tradition of baseball seasons since time immemorial, what was expected to happen, didn’t.

With so many batters going through cold streaks early on – most notably, Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres – it’s been the pitching that’s cued the Yankees to one of their best starts in nearly a quarter century.

Going into Thursday’s tilt against the A’s, their 2.95 ERA was second-lowest in the majors. Their starters were pitching to a 3.01 ERA – third best – and closer Clay Holmes had yet to allow a run in 12 appearances. The rotation has posted a 1.98 ERA with 46 strikeouts in the previous seven starts.

“We’ve gotten a legitimate chance to win, I feel, every single start," Aaron Boone said Thursday. "That goes a long way. I can’t say I’m surprised. I have a ton of confidence in everyone in our rotation right now. Now, they’re coming off different things last year – whether it was injury, down performance, whatever. But they’re all guys that have a track record, that are capable, that we feel like we’re in a good spot…We like what we’re seeing.”

There are a couple good reasons for this, Cole noted.

“They’re doing excellent,” he said earlier this week. “They’re throwing the ball well. I like the adjustments that we’re making. It’s a concerted effort from one start to the next to improve so it’s nice to see that come to fruition. We’ve been executing well. Guys are throwing the ball well, bouncing back after they have some challenges.”

That includes Rodon, who toiled against the Blue Jays on April 16, and came back to throw a seven-inning gem against the A’s earlier this week, and Cortes, who’s worked to improve both the quality and command of his fastball - though that wasn't exactly on display early on Thursday.

Boone also credited Cole for his involvement.

“They do seem to have a really good rapport, camaraderie and Gerrit in the middle of all that, even though he’s not pitching right now,” Boone said. “I certainly like where they’re at.”

Their bullpen has also been able to withstand the loss of Jonathan Loaisiga’s season-ending surgery, with Ian Hamilton emerging as a reliable high-leverage arm to bridge the gap to Holmes. And while Holmes has allowed his fair bit of traffic – he’s allowed 12 hits in his 12 innings – he also came into the day with a major-league leading nine saves.

There’s probably a decent reason for why he’s been able to limit the damage, though.

“When he’s hit bumps along the road along the way, he’s always handled those really well,” Boone said. “He’s never really satisfied. He’s always working to get a little bit better at his craft and I feel like we have a more polished, complete pitcher than we’ve seen dominate over the past few years. I feel like he’s just got a better handle of his delivery, of his arsenal – when something is not exactly right, being able to correct on the fly better, the cutter and the slider being much more reliable for him to go with the sinker. I feel like he’s a more complete and polished pro, and that’s a credit to him and his mindset and his professionalism.”

Tonkin finds a home. The Yankees claimed pitcher Michael Tonkin off waivers and designated pitcher McKinley Moore for assignment in a corresponding move. Tonkin has already been DFAed three times this season – twice by the Mets and once by the Twins. In parts of seven seasons, the reliever is 11-8 with a 4.44 ERA. “He’s certainly a guy that can give you length, that has had success this year and last year was a really good pitcher,” Boone said of the righthander, who was 7-3 with a 4.28 ERA and pitched 80 innings over 45 appearances with Atlanta last season.

Berti close. Jon Berti (groin) could begin his rehab assignment as soon as this Sunday “but he’s got a couple of heavy days these next couple of days, so he’s got to get through that first,” Boone said. With DJ LeMahieu reaggravating his injured foot, the Yankees are in dire need of infield depth, and both Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo took reps at first base during batting practice Thursday. Wells hasn’t played first base since college, and Verdugo, who likely isn’t a viable option, has never manned the position.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.