MILWAUKEE Even before Gerrit Cole went down with an injury in the middle of spring training, there were some questions about the Yankees rotation.co So when it became clear that , those concerns were only heightened. The season is only one month deep, with just over five turns through the rotation completed. But to say that the Yankees starters have merely held the fort down in Coles absence might be shortchanging them. Gerrit Cole started this season on the injured list. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Entering Friday, the Yankees rotation had the fourth-lowest ERA in the majors at 3.06, having thrown the sixth-most innings (141 /) and accrued the seventh-highest fWAR (2.2). I think first and foremost, I feel like every start, whether its been perfect or a guys struggled a little bit, theyve all given us a chance to win a game, manager Aaron Boone said Friday before the Yankees opened a series against the Brewers at American Family Field. We havent had that George Bell Jersey guy give it up early and were out of the game. Weve also had a number of real high-quality starts where weve gotten into the middle or even past the middle innings with very low run totals. Explore More Theyve done a good job of consistently giving us a chance to win every single night. The Yankees offense, which has yet to fully click, has wasted a few of those stronger starts over the past week. But by and large, the Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil plus a terrific spot start from Cody Poteet during a doubleheader in Cleveland has given the Yankees what they need. According to Cortes, that is in part thanks to some friendly competition. Nestor Cortes says there is friendly competition between pitchers on the Yankees. Robert Sabo for NY Post Having Stro here and Rodon, guys that have done it for a long time and have more experience than me, Clarke and Gil, it feels like theres a friendly internal battle between us, the left-hander said Friday, a day after completing seven innings for the third time in six starts. Obviously as a starter, you want to go deep into games. So right now, our focus is trying to go as deep as we can. It feels like were just trying to outdo each other every time were out there. Its been good so far. The rotation is set to face its latest challenge on this seven-game road trip against the Brewers and Orioles, who have the fourth and third-highest OPS, respectively, in the majors. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Their succe s over the past week came against the Rays and As, who are both in the bottom-10 in OPS in the majors. But to Boones point, the rotation has consistently kept the Yankees in games, giving up three or fewer earned runs in 23 of their 26 games entering Friday. It was a formula for succe s, as the Yankees were 15-2 when scoring four runs or more. I think its fair to say there were questions around [the rotation], but Im not surprised, Boone said. The five starters, and potentially more along the way, will be tasked with maintaining and building off their encouraging start to the season, even after Cole returns which could be some time in June in a best-case scenario, with the reigning AL Cy Young winner potentially advancing to throwing off a mound at some point next week. Obviously this rotation with Gerrit is one of the best, Cortes said. I feel like us five, what were doing right now, I think any team would take it. It just shows you how good we can be when Gerrit does come back. Obviously when Gerrit starts, its almost like a for-sure win or were in the game at least. If you put us after him, it gives us a pretty good chance too. Brandon Drury Jersey