Kathy Willens | AP

Randy Miller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

NEW YORK -– The Yankees have had their good, bad and ugly moments winning five of their first nine games this season.

Here’s how we’re charting and judging all this mixed emotion thus far:

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Frank Gunn | The Canadian Press via AP

Good: Starting pitching

Yankees starters had a 2.74 ERA that ranked third-best in the AL and fourth-best in the Majors through Saturday.

That’s a surprise because the rotation, probably more than anything else, seemingly was the best bet to be the weakest link.

And here’s a surprise:

If you’re thinking the Yankees’ rotation is near the bottom of the league in innings pitched because of manager Aaron Boone’s frequent quick hooks, think again.

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The starters’ 49.1 innings ranked tied for fourth best in the majors through Saturday, which shows you that quick hooks is a trend throughout the sport.

Regardless, all five of the Yankees starters have been keeping the club in games, although this perhaps will become a little more challenging with CC Sabathia on the DL with a minor hip injury and guaranteed to miss at least one turn.

Domingo German is the probable fill-in starter for Sabathia, so we’ll see if he keeps this hot streak going for the rotation.

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Kathy Willens | AP

Bad: Bullpen

The Yankees' bullpen finally looks to coming around, as it was great Friday night working nine shutout innings in a row before Jonathan Holder imploded in the 14th and it was very good again Saturday shutting out the Orioles for three innings.

Judging the total package though, the Yankees’ bullpen has been a massive disappointment thus far with a 4.93 ERA through Saturday.

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David Robertson, maybe the best right-handed setup reliever in baseball, has been his usual great in three of his four outings, but he cost the Yankees a game giving up that grand slam to Justin Smoak last weekend in Toronto.

Dellin Betances, Chad Green and Tommy Kahnle all have contributed to the struggles as well, although Holder, who was optioned to Triple-A on Saturday, was roughed up the most (7 runs, 6 ER, 2.2 IP).

This isn’t going out on a limb, but look for the Yankees’ bullpen soon to be the consistent weapon that everyone expected all along because it has four of the best relievers in baseball in Aroldis Chapman, Robertson, Green and Kahnle ... and five if Betances ever gets back to his old form.

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Fred Thornhill | The Canadian Press via AP

Ugly: Injuries

You had to figure the Yankees were due for some bad luck when it was late in spring training and their only injuries were to Jacoby Ellsbury, a reserve outfielder, and Clint Frazier, an outfielder who began the spring ticketed to Triple-A.

Ever since, the Yankees have been crushed with a nonstop string of medical issues.

The barrage began in the final week of spring training when Greg Bird was scratched from a game with soreness in the same foot that had him on the DL for much of last season, then this issue turned into ankle surgery that has him out for 6-to-8 weeks.

From there, center fielder Aaron Hicks got hurt on Opening Day and was replaced on the roster by Billy McKinney, whose first big-league stint ended two days later a shoulder injury.

A few days later, the Yankees announced reliever Ben Heller’s late-spring option to Triple-A was voided due to an elbow injury, and on Saturday the club announced the righty had season-ending Tommy John surgery a day earilier.

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Friday night was the topper of toppers when the Yankees had four players leave their game with Baltimore: In order, left-hander CC Sabathia, third baseman Brandon Drury, second baseman Tyler Wade and catcher Gary Sanchez.

Wade just has the flu and Sanchez only was dealing with cramps, but Sabathia went on the DL with a hip injury that supposedly isn’t serious and Drury is out indefinitely due to service migraine headaches and blurry vision that have been on-and-off issues for a few years.

The Yankees were so banged up on Saturday that manager Aaron Boone made out a lineup card that looked like a spring training lineup with Tyler Austin at first, Ronald Torreyes at second, Miguel Andujar at third, Jace Peterson in left field and Austin Romine catching.

“Over the course of a 162-game season, every team is going to go through their share of times when it’s tough,” Boone said. “You’ve got to be able to weather the storm through those times.”

The Yankees weathered the storm on Saturday by getting a lot of production from their subs in beating Baltimore 8-3 to snap a two-game losing streak.

“We’ve got a lot of guys here and in Triple-A that can come in and do the job,” Romine said. “Everybody’s chomping at the bit to help this team win. It’s a fun team to be part of.”

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Julie Jacobson | AP

Good: Didi Gregorius, SS

Gregorius has been the best Yankees player by a mile so far. He’s hitting for average, for power, he’s walking a lot for the first time in his career, he’s stolen a couple of bases, also rare for him, and his defense has been stellar.

If this keeps up, Gregorius will be one of the Yankees in Washington come July for the 2018 All-Star Game.

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Andy Marlin | USA TODAY Sports

Bad: Giancarlo Stanton, LF/DH

Stanton was the hero on Opening Day with a two-homer game in his Yankees debut, then stunk it up in the home opener going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts.

Overall, he’s been OK despite hitting just .200 with 15 strikeouts in 35 at-bats in his first nine games. I like that he’s worked six walks and his seven RBIs have him on a pace for 126, so production isn’t lacking.

He’ll probably get very hot a few times this season and carry the Yankees for 10 days or so, but for starters, he’s been a little disappointing just because expectations, rightfully so, are through the roof for a superstar slugger who is teaming up with Aaron Judge for the first time after leading the majors with 59 homers last year playing for the Miami Marlins.

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Andy Marlin | USA TODAY Sports

Ugly: Gary Sanchez, C

Sanchez’ often-criticized defense has been a lot better – his throwing arm is the best in the game and he has no errors or passed balls so far – but he managed just two hits in 32 at-bats before cramps forced him out of Friday’s game in the 14th inning and had him unavailable for Saturday’s game.

This has been ugly start to the season indeed.

As bad as Sanchez has looked at the plate, and we’re not used to seeing this because he’s been so consistently good in his first two seasons, it’s not like he’s striking out a lot. In his first eight games, he whiffed just five times.

This early season slump is nothing to be concerned about because it’s only 32 at-bats. If he’s hitting below .200 after 100 at-bats, then it’ll be time to worry.

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Julie Jacobson | AP

Good: Aaron Judge, RF

I’m sticking Judge in the good category even though he hit just .273 with two homers and 11 strikeouts in 33 at-bats in his first nine games.

His seven RBIs in nine games is good, he’s walked enough to have a .415 on-base percentage, and as always, his defense and arm in right field are elite. He’s already made a great throw to the plate to prevent a run and reached over the wall to bring back a homer.

Judge hasn’t gotten hot yet, but his overall play thus far has been good.

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Julie Jacobson | AP

Bad: Brett Gardner, LF

It doesn’t seem fair sticking Gardner in the bad category a day after he ignited the Yankees to a win on Saturday while they were minus five starters. His first-inning leadoff double led to two runs and he was on base four times, but this big game only hiked his season average to .222.

Gardner probably will be fine – especially when he starts getting more rest next week with center fielder Aaron Hicks expected to return from the DL on Wednesday – but 10 strikeouts in 36 at-bats with no steals and a low .200s average through nine games nonetheless isn’t what you expect.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for Nj.com

Ugly: Brandon Drury, 3B

Drury had a big game in the second game of the season to carry the Yankees to a win in Toronto, but there’s been a lot of ugliness mixed into the first part of his first season with the club.

His defense has been a little shaky, especially his throws, and he’s hitting just .217 in eight games.

Those struggles are nothing compared to his new issue: As of Saturday, Drury is on the 10-day disabled list dealing with severe migraines and blurry vision, which apparently have been an on-and-off issue for a few years.

The Yankees didn’t know anything about this until Friday after Drury was pulled from the game while experiencing these issues and they’re eager to figure out a permanent solution. Drury is scheduled to go through a bunch of tests on Monday, and depending on what the results are, he perhaps will be sidelined for just 10 days or a lot longer.

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Where Yankees' prospects A to Z are starting 2018

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Kathy Willens | AP

Good: Luis Severino, RHP

Two starts into his season, Severino looks like he’s better than last year when he was an AL All-Star and Cy Young runner-up.

A scout predicted to me last week that Severino will be more dominate this year because his curveball has improved. Besides that, Severino has the best fastball in the game among starting pitchers, and unlike many, he doesn’t lose velocity at all late into his outings.

Severino has stated that he’s hungry to pitch his way into being among the elite of the elite starters in baseball, up there with the Clayton Kershaws of the world. This might be the year, as if it is, the Yankees will be a lot more dangerous in the postseason.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Bad: Tyler Wade, 2B

Wade’s defense at second base has been very good, as he’s making all the plays and showing lots of range.

His bat still is a big question mark. Although Wade has had a couple big knocks thus far, he hit just .150 in his first seven games with three hits in 20 at-bats.

Wade hasn’t made excuses, but he has one: He’s been battling flu-like symptoms since the start of the season.

He’s hit in the minors at every level and he’s hit well the last two springs, but he still needs to do it in the majors. Counting his 58 at-bats last year, Wade went into Sunday as a career .154 hitter in 78 at-bats.

A scout that I recently talked to predicted Wade will prove that he can hit this year.

“To me, he’s another Gregg Counsell,” the scout said, referring to the Milwaukee Brewers manager, who was a valuable utility infielder who hit .255 in 16 big-league seasons.

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Lynne Sladky | AP

Ugly: Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

Everything about Ellsbury’s season thus far has been ugly with a capital U.

Even his first interview of the spring was ugly, then he got hurt early into Grapefruit League play, he missed almost a month, and then when the Yankees actually need him, he’s still on the DL due to a new issue, hip soreness.

Ellsbury isn’t a bad player, but his still-hard-to-believe contract mixed with mediocre play and quiet personality are reasons why he seems to be an outcast on a club that is very tight.

How will this saga end?

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I thought Ellsbury was a candidate to be released this spring with three years and $68 million to go on his contract before he and second-year outfielder Clint Frazier landed on the DL. Now that the Yankees are very thin in outfielders – a few of their higher-level prospects were traded in the last year – Ellsbury probably isn’t going anywhere this season.

And, if you’re thinking he’s a trade candidate, good luck finding a taker who will pay anything more than $3 million or so a year.

Also, don’t forget Ellsbury has a no-trade clause, although you’d think he’d move on for a chance to start rather than be a Yankees benchwarmer, which will be his role if Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks avoid the DL the rest of the year.

(Hicks, as mentioned earlier, is expected to be activated from the DL on Tuesday and suffering a minor muscle strain on Opening Day).

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Julie Jacobson | AP

Good: Masahiro Tanaka, RHP

Tanaka was right in spring training when he seemed happy with his progress despite pitching to a 7.24 ERA.

So far, so good, and now I’m optimistic more than ever that ace Luis Severino and Tanaka can be a 1-2 punch that may be able to match up well with anyone else’s two starters.

We’ll get a good gauge this week in the Yankees’ first series of the season against the Red Sox because Severino will oppose Chris Sale in Tuesday night’s series opener and Tanaka will match up against David Price on Wednesday night.

Tanaka was very good in his first start, allowing one run over six innings in a win over the Blue Jays, and better in his second before allowing three runs after taking a shutout into the seventh.

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Adam Hunger | USA TODAY Sports

Bad: Miguel Andujar, 3B

I’m not going to judge Andujar on four games, but that’s all there is to go by thus far and his 1-for-15 (067) hasn’t been impressive.

Andujar’s last game was his best – he was 1-for-3 with a sac fly on Saturday – but his at-bats in his other games weren’t good.

A lot of scouts have been saying that Andujar is Major League ready as a hitter, and it’s time for him to prove it because he’s now the starting third baseman with Brandon Drury on the DL.

We’ll have a better idea of what Andujar is capable of bringing the Yankees this season over the next couple of weeks when he gets regular at-bats.

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Elsa | Getty Images

Ugly: Dellin Betances, RHP

Betances followed two bad outings to start the season with two good ones, but I’m still not convinced his ugliness is over because it’s hard getting that steal of home by Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar on March 31 out of my mind.

I haven’t forgotten how great Betances has been for much of his career, but the second half of his 2017 and his start to this season have me thinking more rough times could be ahead. Until he figures out a way to hold baserunners 10 times better, it’s hard to trust him in a close game even when he has great stuff and good mechanics because one hit or walk can lead to two stolen bases and a sac fly.

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Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.