Girardi wins debut as Yankees manager

NEW YORK -- Last opener at the old place, first win for Joe Girardi.

Chien-Ming Wang shut down the Toronto Blue Jays for seven innings, making Girardi a winner in his rain-delayed debut as Yankees manager and sending New York to a record-setting 3-2 victory Tuesday night.

After wet weather postponed the festivities Monday, Wang and the Yankees beat Toronto ace Roy Halladay to win their major league-best 11th consecutive home opener. That broke a tie with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won 10 in a row from 1945 to 1954, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Alex Rodriguez scored on Hideki Matsui’s grounder in the seventh, breaking a 2-2 tie.

The Yankees are set to move next year into a new $1.3-billion ballpark that’s under construction next door.

Around the league

Left fielder Carl Crawford’s $8.25-million option for 2009 was exercised by the Tampa Bay Rays, who declined outfielder Rocco Baldelli’s $6-million option and agreed to a $10.5-million, three-year deal with relief pitcher Dan Wheeler. . . . The Cleveland Indians said catcher Victor Martinez was day to day after suffering a mild strain of his left hamstring Monday. . . . Pitcher Bartolo Colon will start the season opener for triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday as he tries to earn a call-up to the Boston Red Sox.