Bumgarner on spring debut; Devo back

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Madison Bumgarner hit 93 mph on the radar gun with his four-seam fastball during his Cactus League debut in a 4-1 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday afternoon, but the D-backs' left-hander did not want to make too much of that just yet.

Bumgarner averaged 90.4 mph with his four-seamer in 2021 after it had dropped to 88.4 mph during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

"You know, I gotta keep it first," Bumgarner said. "I don’t want to act like it's here, and then it may not be. But I feel pretty good about where I'm at. I've been throwing a bit harder all winter than usual, so hopefully, it's here to stay and we keep building on it. But if not, we'll work with what we've got."

If he pitches every five days the rest of Spring Training, Bumgarner would get two more starts and be lined up to start Opening Day -- something manager Torey Lovullo prefers to wait until later in camp to make official.

Whenever Bumgarner’s first start of the regular season is, he said he should be able to throw six innings if needed.

On Tuesday, Bumgarner went 2 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits, including a pair of home runs. With a veteran like himself, the numbers are not nearly as crucial as getting in his innings and pitches.

Of the two homers he gave up, the first one is a good example. While in the regular season, he might have thrown the pitch to Nick Solak more out of the zone to get him to chase and swing and miss, he threw an 0-2 backdoor cutter because it was a pitch he wanted to work on during Spring Training.

"I was happy with how I felt," Bumgarner said. "Arm felt good, body felt good. I was able to get up three times, and that's the important thing to me right now."

Devo back
Right-hander Chris Devenski, who had Tommy John surgery last June, threw off the mound for the first time Tuesday.

Devenski likely won't be able to return until sometime around midseason, but his 15-pitch session was a big step.

"We were super excited to watch Devo," Lovullo said.

Game notes
• Righty Ian Kennedy made his spring debut Tuesday and tossed a perfect inning.

• Left-hander Tyler Gilbert, who is in the mix for a rotation spot, threw three scoreless innings in his first spring appearance.

"Gilbert threw the ball good," Lovullo said. "You know, it's the same combination of pitches that I remember seeing last year. He gets very quick, easy outs, looks like he controls counts. A lot of weak contact. He's just out of the middle of the zone and missing barrels."

• Ketel Marte made his spring debut after being held back by irritation in one of his eyes. He was the DH and went 0-for-3. He is likely to play second base in his next game, which could come as soon as Thursday against the Brewers.

Up next
The D-backs will travel across town to take on the Giants at Scottsdale Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. Merrill Kelly will start and make his spring debut, while Corbin Martin, Joe Mantiply, Miguel Aguilar and Ryan Weiss are also slated to pitch.

Taylor Widener will start Thursday against the Brewers with Dan Straily, Kyle Nelson and Jesús Liranzo also scheduled to pitch.