Bronx, N.Y., April 6, 2015; Blue Jays 6, Yankees 1 — The Yankees and their fans awoke to a gorgeous sunny day Monday. It wasn’t actually warm, but weather featuring temps in the low 60s is better than we’ve come to expect for Opening Day of the baseball season in the Bronx in early April. Masahiro Tanaka was poised to take the start, and a mostly new infield was in place to help initiate a new Yankee era.

And Tanaka was up to the task early, striking out three in the first two frames, while allowing just a harmless Dioner Navarro infield single against the shift in the second. In the low nineties, his fastball velocity was down from last year, as it has been, but a bigger problem cropped up as his pinpoint control started to fail him. He would throw just three of nine first-pitch strikes the first time through the order, and 10 of 20 on his eventually shortened day.

And that lack of control led to his downfall in the third. Left fielder Kevin Pillar — something about that name I just don’t like — smacked a single to left, and Tanaka fell to 3-0 behind rookie second baseman Devon Travis — in his first major league at bat — walking him on five pitches. Third baseman Chase Headley signaled several times to his righthander on the mound to be ready for the bunt, but when Jose Reyes laid one down to the left side, the extra attention backfired. Masahiro did all he could to smother the roller, but lunged into Headley’s way, and Chase’s throw sailed to Mark Teixeira’s right at first. The result of the error was 1-0, runners on second and third, and ex-Yank catcher Russell Martin took all of one pitch to single the other way to right for 3-0. Tanaka got a fly out to right, but fell behind Edwin Encarnacion, who jumped on too fat a pitch and homered to left. It was 5-0, and this one was over.

Tanaka struck out the side in the fourth, but around a single and second walk, and back-to-back, high-pitch-count innings pushed him past 80 and out of the game. From there, the touted and rebuilt pen filled in admirably, featuring an effective David Carpenter, and a dynamite turn from Chris Martin. The lefties, not so much, as Justin Wilson walked the bases loaded in the ninth, and four of the five consecutive fly balls Chasen Shreve allowed were rocked, and one — Travis’s first ever — left the yard. A fly ball strategy is a tough one to succeed with in Yankee Stadium.

Toronto righty Drew Hutchison, on the other hand, was superb, though having watched much of this same Yankee team flail on offense last year, you had to wonder how challenged he was. Left fielder Brett Gardner, who had a horrible spring season with the bat, almost homered off him for an early hometown lead in the first, and Brett finally broke up the shutout with a no-doubt shot to right in the sixth. The much anticipated return of DH Alex Rodriguez featured more of what he showed in March: two hard liners to right center, one for a hit, and a walk. But Brian McCann’s hard single over the first base bag in the fourth was the home team’s only other hit, even if Carlos Beltran threatened to homer with a deep drive to right following Gardner’s homer.

At 90 pitches, Hutchison was being rocketed, and Manager John Gibbons replaced him. But Hutchison dominated into the sixth, and his bullpen backed him up. The lone threat, with two aboard in the eighth, was short circuited when hard-throwing rookie Miguel Castro, also enjoying his major league debut, replaced southpaw Aaron Loup. He threw one pitch, and new Yankee shortstop Didi Gregorious made an ill-advised dash for third; Martin easily pegged him out.

With baseball seasons scheduled as they are, it’s no surprise that there have been other games of note on this date, and a few that were not played. A foot-plus-deep snowstorm on April 6, 1982, resulted in an Opening Day cancellation, with the first game delayed until Easter Sunday, April 11: the last Opening Day I failed to attend. But eight years earlier, there was a happier result, a flip of today’s score, a 6-1 “home” win over Cleveland.

The year was 1974, and Mel Stottlemye bested Gaylord Perry. Bobby Murcer and Thurman Munson had two hits apiece, Graig Nettles homered for two. Great feats, names that bring a smile.

But that took place at Shea Stadium, the first of 322 games with the Stadium being redone, and the team based in the wrong borough. The Yanks took it on the chin today. Their three biggest Division threats — including the one in the visiting dugout — won, as did the crosstown Mets. Tanaka struggled, a re-peopled lineup produced results similar to the disappointing ones from last year. And an undoubtedly rock-solid infield defense made a huge error.

But it was Opening Day in the Bronx, the day was fine, the temperature more than acceptable. We’ve got 161 games left to be played. I choose this one.

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!