Diamondbacks' Madison Bumgarner: Slated for spring debut

Bumgarner will make his Cactus League debut Thursday against the Reds, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Bumgarner had his second session against batters Sunday, which he characterized as better than the first round against live hitters. "That was a lot bigger improvement than I was actually looking for from the first one to this one," Bumgarner said. "It sure felt good. I felt really good about it." That first outing went so poorly that he requested a second opportunity to face hitters before getting into a game.