If Opening Day was any indication, this is going to be an interesting season in The Bronx. 

The Yankees beat the Red Sox, 6-5, in 11 innings, coming back three different times before Josh Donaldson won it with a game-winning single in his Yankees debut. 

But as much as that meant, the outcome was at least somewhat overshadowed by what happened off the field. The day began with general manager Brian Cashman announcing the Yankees had failed to come to an agreement with Aaron Judge on a long-term extension before the right fielder’s self-imposed deadline. 

And it ended not with the walk-off win, but with Judge sounding displeased that Cashman had made it a point to give out the exact figures of the offer. 

Those negotiations are now tabled, perhaps until after a season in which Judge and the Yankees have significant expectations. 

The Yankees got off to a promising beginning, despite a rough first inning from Gerrit Cole led to an early 3-0 deficit. The ace allowed three runs before he retired a batter, the big blow a two-run homer from Rafael Devers. 

Anthony Rizzo got the Yankees back in the game with a two-run blast in the bottom of the first off Nathan Eovaldi, and Giancarlo Stanton tied the score with a leadoff homer in the fourth. 

The Red Sox took the lead again in the sixth, when Clay Holmes gave up an RBI single to Alex Verdugo, but DJ LeMahieu tied the score at 4-4 with the Yankees’ third homer of the afternoon, this one with one out in the eighth off former Yankees prospect Garrett Whitlock. 

Each team scored a run in the 10th before Michael King retired three straight batters in the top of the 11th. 

Donaldson, with ghost runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second, led off the bottom of the 11th with a single off Kutter Crawford — in just the second appearance of his MLB career. The hit drove in Kiner-Falefa and marked the Yankees’ first Opening Day walk-off win since 1957 against the Washington Senators. 

The Yankees overcame another poor outing by Cole against the Red Sox. In his final outing of 2021, Cole failed to retire a batter in the third inning of the wild-card game in Boston. 

This time, he managed to settle down and retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced before he was removed after four innings and 68 pitches due to a reduced spring workload following the MLB lockout. 

The bullpen gave up just one earned run over the next seven innings and the new-look lineup finished the job. 

The outcome was not a surprise to the Yankees. 

“This was just a fun game to be a part of,’’ manager Aaron Boone said. “It was an example of how it’s not always gonna be perfect.” 

“I said to [Judge], I’ve watched Yankee games from afar and seeing the other team score early and the Yankees come back,’’ Rizzo said. “After the top of the first, we were gonna have to [get some] back. That’s how it goes here.” 

As last season proved, when the Yankees didn’t clinch a playoff berth until Judge’s walk-off hit beat the Rays on the final day of the regular season, they’ll take any win they can get. 

“It’s one game,” Rizzo said. “But it could be the deciding factor in 162.” 

For now, those could be the final 162 games of Judge’s tenure with the Yankees. 

Both sides have said the uncertainty surrounding his contract status and impending arbitration hearing won’t impact the season. 

Results like the one they got Friday will certainly help. 

“It was nice for my first game here to be able to help the team win,’’ Donaldson said. “I couldn’t ask for much more.”