Atlanta Braves 4, Philadelphia Phillies 1: After having attended the final Major League Baseball game in 2008 — in which the Phillies won the World Series — my son and I this evening attended the first Major League Baseball game in 2009, before which the Phillies raised the team’s 2008 World Series championship banner.

Tonight, however, did not end with a Phillies victory. If it’s any consolation, the Phillies also lost their season openers in 2007 and 2008, yet in both of those years the team won the National League East division.

Braves starter Derek Lowe pitched eight strong scoreless innings, and Braves rookie centerfielder Jordan Schafer, playing in his first Major League Baseball game, hit a home run in his first at bat and would have been perfect on the night but for a strike out to Phillies closer Brad Lidge, who pitched a scoreless top of the ninth inning for the Phillies in a non-save situation.

You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here.

My son and I are scheduled to be back at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night to see game two of the Phillies season.

“Marriage ruling may boost Iowa economy”: This article appears today in The Des Moines Register.

The New York Times reports today that “A Push Is On for Same-Sex Marriage Rights Across New England.”

And yesterday in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko had an article headlined “California ruling helped Iowa OK gay marriage.”