ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Throughout a spring in which there was far more bad than good from CC Sabathia, the pitcher maintained all was well.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ No pitcher puzzles and perplexes the Yankees like Michael Pineda.

BOSTON _ Francisco Cervelli draped his right arm over Gerrit Cole's shoulders and walked with him toward the dugout steps. The Pirates' Opening-Day battery looked defeated following a frustrating fifth inning Monday in which the Boston Red Sox constructed a two-out rally and burst open a scoreless game at Fenway…

ST. LOUIS _ The sharp, taut style of game the St. Louis Cardinals want to play this season, said they would play, worked all spring to play, and so rarely did play last season was there for eight innings against the reigning World Series champions.

MINNEAPOLIS _ Miguel Sano punished a pitch, Robbie Grossman took one, and Ervin Santana's serene countenance barely registered any duress. All three did the usual, in other words, and the result was something completely unusual for the Twins: A victory on Opening Day.

LOS ANGELES _ Across half a dozen starts on opening day, Clayton Kershaw has thrown 526 pitches in 38 2/3 innings. He has faced 144 batters and struck out 44. He has hit a home run and allowed none. He has pitched a shutout once and allowed a run twice.…