ANAHEIM -- With the playoff race heating up, the Rays are closer to getting the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner back from injury.

After pitching two scoreless innings for Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Blake Snell, who has been sidelined since July 25 after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow to remove loose bodies, is tentatively scheduled to start on Tuesday for the Rays against the Dodgers.

“He felt really, really encouraged by his outing and by his performance,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “Saw the progress made from the first start to the second, so I think our plan right now is to have him start Tuesday against the Dodgers and then we’ll look to build him up from there.”

Snell admitted to being out of sync in his first rehab start with Durham, but said he felt “much more comfortable” during his second start on Thursday. Snell threw 28 pitches and retired all six hitters he faced.

“It was great. I was happy with the way I warmed up. Happy with the way the game went and the outcome,” Snell said. “It was a huge stride forward compared to the last start. I felt a lot more comfortable.”

The left-hander said he got a better feel of his fastball command on Thursday. He was also able to throw the changeup to a right-hander, and was really pleased with his slider to left-handed hitters. While he admitted that his curveball needs some work, getting that feeling with his pitches is what makes him confident that he can return to the big league mound against an opponent that will be playing in October for a seventh consecutive season.

“The first game that I threw, I was just out of whack, out of sync. It just felt really weird,” Snell said. “It was the first time that I felt very hittable. Just not consistent with really anything. Then I had five days to really look at it, really understand what I was doing and when I did that, I was able to correct some things and I felt a lot better the second [time] around.”

The plan for Snell will be similar to what’s in place for Tyler Glasnow, who returned from a lengthy absence Sunday. Snell is available for three innings on Tuesday in his first game back, but with National League rules, the Rays could opt to pinch-hit for the left-hander if the situation presents itself.

Getting Snell stretched out before a possible postseason run will be secondary to winning with just 15 games left, and the left-hander understands that. But the Rays hope that adding Snell back in the rotation will give them a much-needed boost as they try and fight off the A’s and Indians for one of the two AL Wild Card spots.

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“It’s been a while,” Snell said. “I broke my toe [and was] out for 10 days. But I’ve never experienced this, and hopefully I don’t have to again. Do what I enjoy doing and I’m really looking forward to it. To do it against the best is even better.”

Injury report

Brandon Lowe (left quad) and Yonny Chirinos (right middle finger inflammation) had “very good days” on Friday, according to Cash. Chirinos is scheduled to throw a live bullpen session against Lowe on Monday. If that goes well, Lowe will head to instructional league on Tuesday to begin taking at-bats. Cash said it’s still possible for both players to return at some point in the regular season.

Roster move

With Durham’s season ending on Thursday, the Rays have added right-hander José De León to the taxi squad -- he is expected to be added to the active roster on Saturday. Once De Leon is activated, the Rays will have 37 players on the active roster, which ties the 2013 team for largest in franchise history.