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Joba Chamberlain continued his journey back to the Major Leagues by making a rehab appearance with the Trenton Thunder on Sunday.

In three previous rehab outings in the Gulf Coast League, and three more with the Tampa Yankees, Joba was superb, allowing only one earned run in eight innings of work while striking out seven.

The promotion to Double-A Trenton for Chamberlain was just another sign that he is just days away from rejoining the Yankees after having season-ending Tommy John surgery in 2011 and dislocating his ankle in a freak accident during Spring Training.

Upon arriving at his old stomping grounds in Trenton, N.J., where he made seven starts in 2007, Joba signed autographs for the fans who came out to see him pitch, which was a nice treat for the 4,735 in attendance at Waterfront Park.

"Everything's good,” Chamberlain said of his return to Trenton. “Nice to get out there, get out with the kids and hang out and relive some memories back here in Trenton.”

After the pregame pleasantries were complete, it was all down to the business at hand: getting into the game for a rehab appearance.

Chamberlain entered with two outs in the seventh inning, replacing starter Shaeffer Hall. He struck out three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings and earned the victory, as the Thunder rallied in the eighth for a 3-2 triumph over the Harrisburg Senators. Of the 30 pitches Joba threw, 23 were strikes. According to the radar guns in Trenton, his velocity reached 97 mph.

One key that the organization has stressed while Joba continues to make rehab appearances is that they want him to pitch in every situation possible before making his way back to the Bronx. In this outing he was brought in in the middle of an inning. Previously he had pitched in back-to-back contests for the first time, on July 24 and 25.

“It was good just to try and get us something different and put us in every situation,” Chamberlain said after the game. “I think that we've done a great job with that, and I think that it's the third time, probably, that I've gone back out for an inning. I think that my stuff got a little better in the second inning, and so I just continue to go out and get stronger and continue to have the opportunity to improve on everything every time out.”

The preliminary plan for now is to have Chamberlain possibly pitch another outing on Tuesday in Trenton. Then it won't be much longer before he finally makes it back to the Yankees.

“It was fun to get here and get another under my belt,” Chamberlain said of his outing. “Hopefully sooner than later get back up in the big leagues and help those guys win.”

Asked about his plan over the next couple of days, and what his timetable is, Chamberlain said, “Going back tomorrow and get some work in and play some catch and see how it feels. Don't know too much after that. Maybe another [outing] on Tuesday.”

Quotations courtesy of David Fenster, Trenton Thunder reporter, WIMG Radio.