The bullpen was the Yankees’ biggest concern when they started the season, but a month into the schedule the relief corps has been the most reliable unit on the team.
The starting pitchers have been dreadful other than Andy Pettitte and Chien-Ming Wang, who stares down Mariners ace Erik Bedard tonight (7:05, YES, WCBS-AM) in the first of three games between the clubs at Yankee Stadium.
The offense, plagued by injuries, has been inept when it comes to hitting with runners on base and is averaging 4.3 runs per game, fifth lowest in the American League.
And even Joe Girardi’s training camp, which emphasized fundamentals, did not transform Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui or Johnny Damon into reliable defensive outfielders.
But the bullpen has been good. At times, it’s been great. All too often it’s been asked to cover five or six innings at a time, and more often than not it has kept the team in the game.
Yankees relievers have pitched 108 of the 261-2/3 innings the staff has compiled. That’s 41 percent. That’s too many, and tonight Wang (5-0, 3.23 ERA) will be leaned on to go deep into the game because the bullpen racked up four innings last night in a loss to the Tigers.
The bullpen should have an easier go of it tonight, but the Yankees’ offense won’t. Bedard is 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA in three starts since returning to the Mariners (13-16) from the disabled list. He is one of the best left-handed starters in baseball, which does not bode well for the Yankees (14-16), who struggle against lefties. Baltimore’s Brian Burres, a lefty, had a career ERA of 5.69 before he shut out the Bombers for 5-2/3 innings April 19.
The Yankees will be without injured Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada.
The Yankees’ relief corps has a 3.75 ERA and 100 of the Yankees’ 188 strikeouts. Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain have rightly received the bulk of the credit, but Brian Bruney was excellent before going on the disabled list, and rookie Ross Ohlendorf has shown the potential to be a late-innings stalwart.
Kyle Farnsworth, who was banished from any role of importance last season, has been decent. In 13-1/3 innings, he has 15 strikeouts and a 4.05 ERA. LaTroy Hawkins, an early favorite to replace Farnsworth as Yankees fans’ favorite whipping boy, has a 3.95 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 11 appearances since his April 4 disaster (six earned runs in 2/3 of an inning against the Rays). That’s not terrible.
Ohlendorf, with the exception of his two-inning, five-run appearance April 24, has impressed in an evolving role that has seen him work as a long reliever and secondary set-up man. The Yankees hope the 25-year-old continues to evolve into Chamberlain’s replacement as eighth-inning specialist when Chamberlain is converted back into a starter.
Chamberlain (1.59 ERA, 14 strikeouts in 11-1/3 innings) has been dominant as Rivera’s set-up man, and Rivera is off to one of the best starts of his career. He is 8-for-8 in save opportunities and has not allowed a run in 11 innings.
Through 30 games, the Yankees’ bullpen has housed 10 pitchers, which is the reason it has been able to handle the heavy workload. The depth of quality arms has enabled Girardi to spread around the innings among Jonathan Albaladejo (10-1/3), Billy Traber (8), Edwar Ramirez (4-1/3) and Chris Britton (2-2/3).
dtomasino@nypost.com