updated 2:32 a.m. ET May 10, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO - Jimmy Rollins couldn’t have asked for a better return. Well, other than hitting the triple he needed for the cycle.

Rollins led the Philadelphia Phillies to victory in his long-awaited comeback, and did so playing in front of family and friends in his native Bay Area no less.

The reigning NL MVP came off the disabled list and hit a two-run homer, an RBI double and also singled, sending the Phillies past the struggling San Francisco Giants 7-4 on Friday night.

“It was great. It makes you smile,” Rollins said, doing just that, smiling. “Hopefully I can give you guys a good story. It ain’t going to happen all the time.”

Carlos Ruiz drove in two runs for the Phillies, including the go-ahead score in the eighth, and Cole Hamels (4-3) struck out seven in seven innings to win his second straight decision.

The Giants lost their season-high fifth straight game and sixth in seven to drop a season-worst eight games under .500 (14-22). San Francisco is back home for 10 games on the heels of a disappointing 1-5 road trip that featured a three-game sweep at Pittsburgh after a losing series in Philadelphia.

With one out, Ruiz chopped a grounder off Tyler Walker (1-1) to second baseman Eugenio Velez, whose throw home pulled Bengie Molina off the plate and allowed pinch-runner So Taguchi to score after he advanced on a wild pitch.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy could be seeing throwing his cap in frustration in the dugout.

“We’ve lost some tough games and here we are in another tight ballgame,” Bochy said. “We get the groundball but we just couldn’t get him there. That’s frustration, that’s all. We all want to win. This is another tough tight ballgame we probably let slip away from us. We swung the bats well and got some runs. We just couldn’t make it hold up.”

Pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs followed with an RBI single that chased Walker.

Rollins sure found his stroke in a hurry after making some tweaks during his rehab time in Florida, saying he got back to some of the things that worked for him early last year. He missed hitting for the cycle by one hit for the 16th time in his career.

“He had a good night,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “I’m happy we’ve got everybody back now. I think we’re going to play better. I think we’re going to go get the East. We’ve got a good league, but when we’re healthy we’ve got a good chance.”

Batting leadoff and starting at shortstop, Rollins grounded out in his first two at-bats before connecting for his third home run of 2008 in the fifth. His drive into the left-field seats off the first pitch from Pat Misch pulled Philadelphia within 4-3. He singled in the seventh for his fifth multihit game this year, then doubled in the eighth.

It was one nice homecoming.

“Not bad,” said his father, Jimmy Rollins Sr., who is nursing his own calf injury. “He’s not 100 percent yet. He’s all right, though.”

Rollins missed a month with a sprained left ankle. The Giants will get their star shortstop back for Saturday’s game when 11-time Gold Glover Omar Vizquel makes his season debut following left knee surgery Feb. 27.

Hamels allowed four runs and six hits. Tom Gordon pitched a scoreless eighth and Brad Lidge finished for his ninth save in as many chances, striking out the side while allowing one hit.

Emmanuel Burriss hit a two-run triple as San Francisco took the lead in the fourth. He also singled twice for his first career three-hit game.

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