Watch: Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto plays simulated game, inches toward return from injury 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is inching closer to a return to the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation after throwing in a simulated game recently. The Japanese ace has been out since June 15 due to a strained rotator cuff, and a month later, he was placed on a 60-day injured list.

On Friday afternoon, under the supervision of pitching coach Mark Prior, Yamamoto was seen throwing pitches to live hitters. From the little visual that was shared on social media, he seems to be doing well, throwing most of his pitches near the strike zone.

Watch a clip of Yamamoto's throwing session in a simulated game below:

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million deal in the offseason, started off well, pitching to a 2.92 ERA and going 6-2 in 14 starts. His return is pivotal for the Dodgers, who are heavily impacted by injuries to starting pitchers.

Tyler Glasnow is heading back to the injured list due to right elbow tendinitis, while the return of Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler hasn't been encouraging. Clayton's last start, however, was far better than his previous three.

Dave Roberts optimistic about Yoshinobu Yamamoto's return ahead of postseason

MLB: Miami Marlins at Los Angeles Dodgers (Image Source: IMAGN)

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is optimistic about Yamamoto's return to the rotation ahead of postseason. He said Yamamoto's recovery is ramping up, having mostly done with bullpen sessions so far, while heading closer to some rehab assignments before marking his return:

“Yeah, I think so,” Roberts said. “I think that’s also assuming that it all goes great, but the way that Yoshinobu is feeling, I see no reason why we couldn’t.”

Currently, the recovery timeline suggests that Yamamoto might be back by early September, giving him a month to get back to full steam before the postseason starts in October.

For now, with pitching injuries, the Dodgers' lead in the NL West standings has already started to shrink. Both the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres are only 3.0 games behind the Dodgers, who are currently in the top spot with a 72-51 record.

Every loss from hereon could render the Dodgers from starting the postseason in the NLDS round to navigating narrow ways in the Wild Card front. Moreover, the sooner they get their starters back from the injured list, the better they can position themselves to make a deep run in the postseason.