Bryce Harper homers in his return to the lineup in Phillies’ series

TORONTO - Bryce Harper was armored with a black sleeve and red arm guard on the right elbow he'd spent the past week nursing back to health.

The Phillies had certainly felt the absence of the two-time MVP in their lineup, going 1-4 with him unavailable after getting hit by a Spencer Strider fastball. But as soon as he stepped into the on-deck circle for the first time at the Rogers Centre, the Phillies' fortune started to turn.

Trea Turner sent a two-run homer hurtling into the visitors' bullpen to bring Harper to the plate. Harper swung through a fastball from Toronto starter Bowden Francis, fouled off another, then crushed a splitter for a homer of his own, which also landed in the visitors' bullpen.

Turner and Harper's twin blasts sparked a six-run first inning for the Phillies in th