MINNEAPOLIS – For the first time in 99 days, Corey Kluber was back in game action, tossing his first rehab start for Triple-A Columbus.

The Indians' 33-year-old right-hander threw 41 pitches (24 for strikes) while allowing two solo homers to Pawtucket. He struck out two batters and walked one across three innings, then went to the bullpen to complete his expected workload of 50-55 pitches for the day.

“We kind of put some parameters in place before [his outing] so if he was over 40 [pitches], he’d finish up in the bullpen,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “Naturally, he wanted to go out and pitch another inning, but he finished out in the bullpen.”

“I started to feel better as it went on,” Kluber said. “I think early on maybe just not quite aggressive enough. But I think once I got more comfortable out there, things started to feel a little bit better. I feel like stuff got a little better, sharper. Just try to build on that next time.”

It was Kluber’s first competitive action since a line drive hit by Miami’s Brian Anderson broke his right forearm on May 1. Simply seeing the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner get back on a mound could be a boost for the Indians, who have played their way back into the AL Central race.

“I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Kluber said. “It’s fun to get out there and compete, regardless of whether it’s a rehab start or a real game. I just need to continue to fine-tune things."

Kluber’s next step will be making his second rehab start on Tuesday for Double-A Akron. Francona said he expects the hurler’s pitch count to increase to approximately 65 pitches, but the Indians have yet to identify a specific timeline for Kluber’s return to the big league roster.

“I haven’t run into anything that’s felt out of the ordinary yet,” said Kluber, per audio provided by Columbus. “Today was more of the same, so that’s encouraging. As long and tedious as the process was, hopefully it turned out to be the right thing.”

Kluber admitted his time away from the Indians has been “frustrating,” but said he recognized the onus was on him to stay focused and committed to rehabilitating his arm.

“Nobody wants to miss time,” he said. “I think I just took the mindset of trying to do everything I was able to at each different phase and try to prepare myself, so that when I was able to start, there was less of a bumpy road.”

Kluber was not quite his dominant self to begin 2019, recording a 5.80 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP across his first seven outings. That, along with the injury, is something Kluber is hoping to put behind him. A September stretch run -- and potentially postseason baseball -- could still be in the offing.

“I’ve got to start over fresh,” he said. “What did or didn’t happen earlier in the year is behind us. Now it’s time to work with what I have right and do the best I can with that.”

Roster moves

Francona was concerned about his bullpen from the second he learned that Tuesday’s rainout would cause a doubleheader the following afternoon. Despite tossing three scoreless innings – two of which came on Wednesday -- for the Tribe since being traded from the Rays on July 28, Hunter Wood was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to bring up Josh Smith prior to Thursday’s series opener in Minnesota.

“We were just really concerned that if we had an early exit, or if we’re down, we asked a lot yesterday of our guys and we wanted to protect them,” Francona said. “We told Hunter we did not want to send him down. He’ll be back.”

This date in Indians history

2008: Indians reliever and current SportsTime Ohio analyst Jensen Lewis recorded his first career save in a 5-2 victory over the Blue Jays.