PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber returned to the Philadelphia Phillies' lineup on Friday for the series against the Cleveland Guardians after missing three games with a gastrointestinal illness. Schwarber started as the designated hitter and batted second, behind Trea Turner and ahead of Bryce Harper.

The absence ended a streak of 225 consecutive games played by Schwarber. He said he had experienced the illness previously but not during a season.

"I've dealt with it before. This hasn't really happened in season before. I kind of knew what to expect," Schwarber said. Asked about the toll of the illness, he said: "Hell yeah, got me back to like my high school days."

Schwarber also addressed the value he places on being in the lineup every day. "I mean, I'm just never going to break Cal Ripken's record. You take pride in being available on a daily basis. I think that's the biggest thing in our game, always try to make yourself available, being healthy," he said.

Schwarber entered the series with a .230 batting average, 20 home runs, 36 RBIs, eight doubles, one triple and a .981 OPS. He reached the 20-home-run mark in his 45th game this season, the second-fastest player in Phillies history to that milestone behind Cy Williams, who did it in 44 games in 1923. He hit nine home runs in his final 10 games before the three-game absence.

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly welcomed the return. "It's nice to have him back in the lineup and try and get our mix back together," he said.

Mattingly said he expected Schwarber to need a brief adjustment period at the plate. "His timing is going to be off. He's going to get it back. In general, I think once we get to a certain period of the season, you've got enough at-bats under your belt, a couple days (off) doesn't really hurt you," he said.

Cristopher Sanchez was the starting pitcher for the Phillies on Friday. The Guardians entered the series with a 30-22 record.

Mattingly took over as interim manager last month. The Phillies improved from a 9-19 record to 25-23 under his management before losing two of three games to the Cincinnati Reds, a series in which Schwarber was not in the lineup. Before that series, the team had won six consecutive series, including a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates.