FAST TIMES

AROLDIS CHAPMAN received cheers from what was left of the 41,243 at Yankee Stadium Monday when the Cuban flamethrowing lefty made his much-anticipated debut in pinstripes.

With the Bombers holding a four-run lead in the ninth, Chapman took the mound, promptly threw a warmup pitch over catcher Brian McCann’s head before settling down and whizzing a 100 mph fastball on his first pitch as a Yankee that Royals second baseman Omar Infante took for a called strike.

Infante whiffed for the first out. Cheslor Cuthbert followed by striking out on 101 mph gas. Although the Royals scored a run off Chapman, he finished off the Yankees’ 6-3 win that featured an offense that belted five solo home runs — including two by Carlos Beltran — and a decent outing by Ivan Nova, who made his first start of 2016. But all any Yankee could talk about after the game was Joe Girardi’s newest bullpen toy, Chapman, who was reinstated Monday following a 30-game MLB ban for the pitcher’s role in a domestic violence incident last fall at his Florida home.

“It’s tougher than I thought,” McCann said of catching the Cuban southpaw. “It’s hard to see. But it was nice to get (Chapman) back. It’s a huge weapon for us.”

McCann said he “looked up a couple times” to catch the scoreboard reading of Chapman’s velocity, and starter CC Sabathia said it was “cool to be a part of” the Chapman Yankee debut. Even Girardi couldn’t hide his giddiness, as he now has Chapman, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller at the back end of his bullpen.

“I think we all take a look at the board, to see what (Chapman’s velocity) is. Some guys in the back of that bullpen throw really, really hard. But to see that 101, it’s not something you see every day,” Girardi said. Pitches Strikes 100 mph and over Fastest pitch