Shota Imanaga took the next steps towards his return.

The Cubs’ ace tossed two scoreless innings with four strikeouts in the Arizona Complex League on Monday night, his first time in game action since he exited the contest on May 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers with a left hamstring strain.

The two-inning outing was so clean, Imanaga went into the bullpen after the second frame to throw a few more pitches.

“Everything was good,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters in Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon. “Our goal was to get him to 40 pitches. I think he probably threw 26 in the game and then he threw another 15 right away in the bullpen.”

The left-hander will pitch again with the ACL Cubs on Sunday, pitching on five days rest. The plan is for Imanaga to make at least two more rehab outings before returning to the Cubs, which would likely put a return near the end of the month.

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Imanaga was having a stellar start to his sophomore campaign, posting a 2.82 ERA in eight starts. His injury came at an unfortunate time for the Cubs rotation – they had lost Justin Steele, their other frontline starter, to season-ending elbow surgery.

The Cubs rotation has, obviously, taken a hit since then. Cubs starters have a 4.34 ERA since May 5, 19th in baseball. Veterans Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd, though, have been bright spots in that time. The pair have combined for a 3.12 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 78 innings (13 starts) in that time.

Mixing in a healthy Imanaga to that duo will be a boost to the Cubs’ staff and should ease some of the pressure off young arms like Ben Brown and Cade Horton, too.