*Philadelphia Phillies Team Report*
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Philadelphia lost its home opener last season at Citizens Bank
Park, which helped lead to a disappointing 1-6 start.  The
Phillies went on to have a disappointing season and manager
Larry Bowa was fired. Under new manager Charlie Manuel, the
Phillies opened this season with a home victory over Washington.
It could be a bright omen since the last time the team began a
season with a victory at home was 1980, the only year the
franchise won the World Series. Ironically, the opponent was the
Montreal Expos, who relocated to Washington prior to this
season. The Phillies won that contest 6-3 behind a complete game
from Hall of Famer Steve Carlton. ... New CF Kenny Lofton, who
hit a three-run homer off Livan Hernandez in Monday's game,
admitted it was kind of unusual to see Jim Thome, his old
teammate when both were in Cleveland, score ahead of him.
"Usually, it's the other way around," Lofton said. "He's giving
me high fives and usually, I'm giving him high fives. It brought
the memories back [from Cleveland] at home plate and that's
always a good feeling."

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