PHILADELPHIA – During last season, Kenny Lofton never quite fit with the Yankees. He was not in the starting lineup as much as he would have liked, and when he was he did not produce as much as the team would have liked.

But this season in Philadelphia, Lofton appears to be fitting in just fine. The veteran center fielder added to his already impressive numbers for the Phillies last night, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the Phils’ 8-4 victory over the Mets.

“I’m just worried about the team,” Lofton said. “It’s a team game. I’m just trying to help the team win.”

With the Phillies now 39-33 and three games behind Washington in the NL East, Lofton appears to be getting his wish.

Lofton is playing every day and giving the team plenty of production, batting .387 in 42 games played this year and .379 with runners in scoring position. Lofton has a hit in 12 of his last 14 games and in 27 of his 33 starts.

Last night, Lofton singled in the first inning and then came up with the bases loaded in the seventh with the Phillies up 5-2. He hit Dae-Sung Koo’s pitch into the left-field corner, clearing the bases and putting the game out of reach for the Mets.

The Phillies acquired Lofton (along with cash) in December from the Yankees for reliever Felix Rodriguez. Lofton played only one season in the Bronx after signing as a free agent in December 2003. He batted .275 with 18 RBIs and seven stolen bases, a total Lofton has already matched this season. He needs only four RBIs to equal his 2004 total.

The 38-year-old has also shown he can still play center field, starting there 32 times this year, the most on the team.

Lofton did not want to talk about himself after last night’s game, deflecting all questions about him and talking about the team instead. And he really did not want to talk about the Yankees. When asked if things have clicked better for him in Philadelphia than New York, Lofton said, “Next question.”

A moment later, though, he hinted that his lack of playing time in the Bronx still bothers him when he said, “I’m playing here. I like to play.”

Philadelphia is the latest stop in a 15-year career that has passed through Houston, Cleveland, Atlanta, Cleveland again, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Chicago again (this time the North side) and New York. He has slowed down since 1996 when he had 75 steals but still gives the Phillies speed at the top of the lineup.