The Yankees are prepared for the possibility that Masahiro Tanaka’s pitches will travel a few miles per hour slower all season, according to pitching coach Larry Rothschild, but they continue to believe that the right-hander has the stuff to compete at the big league level.

For the second straight year, an injury struck the back end of the Mets’ bullpen on Opening Day. This time it was right-handed closer Jenrry Mejia, who felt stiffness in his right elbow while warming up for a save attempt during Monday’s 3-1 win over the Nationals.

R.A. Dickey spent a lot of time this spring getting comfortable with a slightly slower knuckleball that will remain in the zone longer, which he believes is the solution to the command issues that have plagued him the past two seasons.

We know better than to read too much into a single baseball game in a 162-game season, but, hey, we’re human. We can’t help ourselves. In that vein (and not to be taken too seriously),let’s look at 15 Opening Day overreactions (one for each game) that some of you have certainly had cross your mind.

Madison Bumgarner picked up right where he left off last October as he allowed just one run over seven innings and the Giants held off a late rally to beat the D-backs, 5-4, on Monday night in the season opener for both clubs.

The Giants bullpen briefly walked a tightrope Monday night, but Jeremy Affeldt and Santiago Casilla provided the safety net as San Francisco held on for a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Opening Night.

Nori Aoki, Joe Panik and Angel Pagan, who occupied the top three spots in the Giants’ batting order, combined to go 8-for-9 with four runs scored and two RBIs, both by Pagan, in the first five innings Monday night.

The Giants’ Jake Peavy was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks with back stiffness. Ryan Vogelsong will replace him. Enduring a strained flexor tendon in his throwing arm, Matt Cain all but officially has been removed from his turn in Wednesday’s series finale.

Just after 7 p.m., Sonny Gray stepped on the mound and put on the best Opening Day show the Coliseum crowd has seen in years. Fueled by superb defense behind him and chants of “Sonny! Sonny!” around him, Gray did not allow a hit through the first seven innings and was only struck for one in eight total frames in the A’s 8-0 victory over the Rangers.

Sonny Gray got Oakland’s season off to an electric start by holding the Rangers hitless until the eighth inning. His quest was aided by homers off the bats of Ben Zobrist and Stephen Vogt, and the defense also did its part.

Right-hander Carlos Sierra could be starring in a showcase in Florida by the middle of next month. Sierra isn’t the only player from Cuba that will be seeking a contract in the coming months.

Opening Day 2015 had a host of sweet debuts for players who changed franchises over the winter, making for some really friendly introductions now that the business is official with the start of the regular season.

The Pirates couldn’t get anything going against Reds Opening Day starter Johnny Cueto, but after Cueto exited the game, Andrew McCutchen hit a game-tying homer off reliever Kevin Gregg. Cincinnati countered, however, with Todd Frazier hitting a three-run blast as the Reds won, 5-2, on Monday at Great American Ball Park.

Major League Baseball’s 140th Opening Day was a treasure trove of familiar faces in new places and the drama that makes this one of the best days of the year. Here were my 10 favorite moments.

The first 24 hours alone of the 2015 season had already produced multiple events that had never before happened in the history of Opening Day, as well as a number of other rare accomplishments. Let’s take a look at 13 of the craziest stats stemming from Sunday night’s season opener and Monday’s full slate of Opening Day action.

Dallas Keuchel’s no-hit bid didn’t last as long as Corey Kluber’s, but the Astros lefty came out on top in a matchup with the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner in Monday’s 2-0 Astros win over the Indians in Houston. Jose Altuve got the first hit off Kluber, in the sixth, and later scored on George Springer’s RBI single.

Just before the whole thing came undone in a loss to the Mets on Monday afternoon, the Washington Nationals had played a game that could serve as a blueprint for everything the organization believes in.