As he worked his way back from fractured right ribs, Cody Bellinger was cautious in his workload, making sure not to overexert himself.

Even as he was activated off the IL on Tuesday, the Cubs were easing him back into the fold, having him man the designated hitter spot.

Then, a 12-pitch at-bat in his first plate appearance in two weeks happened. Bellinger fouled off 8 pitches, including 6 in a row in that first plate appearance, before flying out to Fernando Tatís Jr. in right field.

“We were joking around that he kind of exceeded his allotted swings for the day,” manager Craig Counsell said after the game.

But it was just what he needed.

[WATCH: Cody Bellinger recaps his first game back off IL] 

In his next at-bat in the 4^th, Bellinger coaxed another tough at-bat against Randy Vásquez. On the 6^th pitch of the at-bat, Vásquez hung a changeup in the middle of the zone that Bellinger crushed 107 mph off his bat into the right field bleachers. It set the tone for an exciting, walk-off 3-2 win over the Padres courtesy of a Michael Busch solo home run in the 9th.  

“It felt really good,” Bellinger said. “Worked another decent at-bat and just kind of stayed within myself and just really wanted to put a good swing on the ball.”

After a leadoff single in the 6^th, Bellinger again came through for the Cubs.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the 8^th, Mike Tauchman led the frame off with a walk. Bellinger followed with a single to right field, just past the glove of Jake Cronenworth to advance Tauchman to third. Christopher Morel hit a sacrifice fly to center a batter later to tie the game. He finished the day 3-for-4 in the game.

“I just wanted to make sure my swing was in a good spot and it was nice to see some results today,” Bellinger said. “And like I said first at-bat kind of told me where I was at and what I needed to do.”

That was the biggest hurdle Bellinger faced in his recovery — and he cleared it Monday.

Bellinger had hit in the cage, had taken batting practice and took hacks off a machine. But nothing could simulate digging into a box with a live pitcher.

“Swing feels pretty good,” Bellinger said before Tuesday’s game. “I was obviously cautious. It was a good test yesterday of not manipulating anything in my swing and overall, I do feel like it’s in a pretty good spot to where I can go out and play how I want.”

Bellinger’s return is a welcome boon for the Cubs’ offense and lengthens their lineup. Entering Tuesday, Bellinger was third on the team in home runs (5) and third in RBI (17).

“You want to have your best players in the lineup,” Counsell said before the game. “You want to be able to put your best team out there as much as you can and getting Cody back puts us in a step in the right direction on that and we’re happy to have him back. He’s been a really good offensive player in this league.

“He’s been off a little bit, but confident that it was a short layoff, and we can get him back into the swing of things quickly and just getting him back is a good feeling for everybody.”