NEW YORK'The New York Yankees poured it on in last night's season opener, everything but the rain.

During the pre-game ceremonies, West Point cadets unfurled a massive U.S. flag in centre field. The stands were dotted with the team's storied fraternity. Reggie Jackson and Yogi Berra shared the spotlight with equally famous fans Henry Kissinger and Rudy Giuliani.

The sellout crowd greeted their heroes with roars that shook Yankee Stadium, celebrating its 84th and final opening day.

It looked and felt like a landmark occasion. Not the sort of the thing the Yankees were going to ruin by losing.

In the end, they didn't steamroll the Toronto Blue Jays. But the 3-2 New York victory seemed predestined.

The Yankees caught the breaks ' a trio of sparkling defensive plays that robbed the Jays of extra-base hits, a very timely walk and a 314  ??-foot home run over the 314-foot right-field wall.

For their part, the Jays made small mental errors and couldn't find a key hit late. Roy Halladay made a team-record sixth opening day start for the Jays and did not disappoint.

Halladay started strong, striking out leadoff hitter Johnny Damon with three pitches. Though five, he limited baseball's most potent lineup from a year ago to only one run.

But the in sixth, Melky Cabrera got hold of a Halladay cutter and launched the ball just inside the right-field foul pole and inches beyond Alex Rios's extended glove. Cabrera's first home run in 164 at-bats tied the score at 2-2. This after Cabrera flat out robbed the Jays of extra bases on consecutive balls hit into the alleys astride centre field in the fourth.

Halladay's mask of calm is so familiar that it's fascinating to watch it fall.

After the Cabrera home run, he had a small fit on the mound, shouting abuse that seemed to be directed at the Yankee bench, but was instead directed at himself.

"It's a tough place to give up a fly ball, down that line," Halladay said flatly later. The familiar eerie poise had returned.

In the seventh, things got shakier. Halladay allowed a leadoff single to Alex Rodriguez and then walked Jason Giambi.

"I kind of created some of the trouble myself, especially the walk," Halladay said.

Then the defence behind him ' the one a groundball pitcher like Halladay depends on so heavily ' went missing.

First, Robinson Cano grounded to the first-base side of second. Instead of letting the ball fall to Aaron Hill for the possible double play, new shortstop David Eckstein cut across Hill and fielded the ball. When Giambi, advancing from first, stopped short, Eckstein was forced to take the single out at first base.

That prompted Halladay to walk the bases full. With one out, Hideki Matsui knocked a hard grounder at Hill, which he failed to field cleanly. Again, a double-play opportunity was lost and Rodriguez scored from third base, the game's winning run.

Halladay struck out Cabrera to end the inning. Once again, he erupted in curses as he returned to the dugout.

"It's frustrating, but I have to look at myself as much as anywhere else," Halladay said.

"He's an emotional guy," manager John Gibbons said later of his ace. "He wears it on his sleeve sometimes. You wish more guys did."

There were several bright spots for the Jays, including three stolen bases, two by interim third baseman Marco Scutaro.

Left-hander Scott Downs gave up a leadoff triple in the eighth, but didn't surrender a run, keeping his team in it.

But all that was slim comfort to Halladay, who approaches every game like a do-or-die situation.

Vernon Wells provided the necessary perspective after an emotional evening.

"It's just one of 162."

But wasn't it a great occasion, the last opening day at Yankee Stadium, a New York reporter asked.

"Yeah," Wells said, even flatter than Halladay. "And we lost."

Shortly after the game finished, the skies opened up. Cascading rain forced the stragglers from the stadium.

Even the weather won't mess with the Yankees two days in a row.

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