ANAHEIM -- After just two rehab starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City, the Dodgers are getting Yoshinobu Yamamoto back in the starting rotation on Tuesday against the Cubs, giving the team a much-needed lift.

Yamamoto, who has been sidelined with a right shoulder injury since June, made his second start in Triple-A on Tuesday, allowing two runs and striking out three over two innings. The outing wasn¡¯t the cleanest for the Japanese right-hander, as he needed 53 pitches to get through his two frames, with his pitch count ballooning during a 17-pitch at-bat against former big league catcher Omar Narv¨¢ez.

The Dodgers were hoping to get at least three innings out of Yamamoto before he rejoined the club, but given where they are on the calendar, they need to get him back on a Major League mound in order for him to get three or four starts before the postseason.

¡°I think the stuff will be there,¡± said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about how the command is going to be. So I think the way we¡¯re looking at it is we¡¯re going to get four starts from him, and if we can log four starts and build up volume, we¡¯ll be ready to go beyond that.¡±

Getting Yamamoto back, even as he starts his progression limited to just two or three innings, will provide a massive boost to the Dodgers¡¯ injury-plagued rotation. With Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw both on the injured list, the Dodgers have been left searching for answers heading into the stretch run.

With his historic $325 million deal this past December, the Dodgers are going to lean on Yamamoto to fill in a hole. What he¡¯s able to deliver over the next couple of weeks will ultimately decide his role heading into October, but the Dodgers will be thrilled to see their big offseason acquisition back on the mound.

¡°This is going to be his first postseason here, but he¡¯s pitched in big ballgames,¡± Roberts said. ¡°Our expectation, why we committed to him, is because of this.¡±