"After every home game, Charlie Manuel begins his postgame news conference with a dramatic reading of the box score. It's the only way he knows how to start; no prepared statement will be as effective as the numbers themselves, the manager reasons.

For 41 seconds Sunday, Manuel rattled off everything that had gone right in the Phillies' 7-3 win over Houston. In order of appearance: Roy Oswalt, Ryan Howard, Ben Francisco, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco.

"We've played very consistent," Manuel said. "Steady. We made some mistakes. But at the same time, our pitching definitely held them down. We caught the ball good enough. We definitely had a good offensive series."

How's that for starters?

The Phillies are undefeated after the season's first weekend, marking the first time in 112 years they've begun the season at home with a three-game sweep of a team.

The pitching? As advertised. In the season's first weekend, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Oswalt combined for a 2.84 ERA. In 19 innings, three-fourths of the Four Aces allowed six runs with 23 strikeouts and one walk.

The defense? Shaky sometimes, but it did the job. Francisco made a catch in right while slamming into the fence and knocking San Diego's spot off the out-of-town scoreboard. Rollins made one of those silky smooth spin-and-throw moves after fielding a grounder up the middle.

The offense? Take away the first eight innings of the season, and the Phillies have scored 19 times in the last 17 innings. They went two games without a home run, singling the Astros to death, and then hit two long balls in the first inning of Sunday's finale.

"As far as all the hype, the pitching staff and everything, you have to go out there and do it," Howard said. "On paper, all the hearsay, that's easy. But you have to go out there and do it."

Howard is 7 for 13 to begin the season and took two swings on 3-0 counts Sunday that decided the game. Manuel said he'll almost always leave the decision to swing or take up to his hitter in that situation."