Phillies showcase loaded lineup full of reinforcements to face the Dodgers

The Philadelphia Phillies lost two out of three games over the weekend against the Atlanta Braves, scoring just nine runs over the three contests. What's worse is that eight of the nine runs came in the series opener, which happened to be the only game they won in Atlanta.

Scoring just one run in two games against a division rival is never acceptable, but the Phillies deserve a ton of leeway as they were without Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto who were all on the injured list. Yes, they had some talent in their lineup, but it was going to be hard to score without three stars.

As frustrating as it was being without Harper and Schwarber for nine games, the Phillies had a winning record in those games and are now set to get both of them back for Tuesday's series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Phillies get key reinforcements back just in time for Dodgers series

Kyle Schwarber is leading off. Bryce Harper is hitting third. That's the way it should be. All of a sudden this Phillies lineup has length even without Realmuto, and it's scary. It's not what Dodgers' starting pitcher Bobby Miller might have wanted to see.

Both Harper and Schwarber were injured in the same game on June 27 against the Marlins. Schwarber was always expected to miss the minimum 10 days with his injury, but the assumption was Harper was going to miss more time. It was assumed that the Phillies might have taken advantage of the upcoming All-Star break to give their star first baseman more time to heal from his hamstring injury.

Harper, as he seems to consistently do, beat the reported timeline and is back playing first base and batting third.

Harper did say he's going to take it easy leading up to the All-Star break which is undoubtedly the right approach, as he does not want to re-aggravate his injury. Plus, Harper even at 75 percent or so is better than most players in the sport.

This is a huge series for the Phillies as they're facing off against the team with the second-best record in the National League. Having Harper, a player who has tormented the Dodgers throughout his Phillies career, in their lineup should only help.