Dunn, battling for the final spot in the Mariners' six-man starting rotation, fired two scoreless innings in a Cactus League tie with the Athletics on Saturday, allowing a hit and two walks while recording two strikeouts.
Dunn battled some adversity early, loading the bases with a hit and the two free passes in the first before the inning was rolled over. The break in the action certainly seemed to help, with the young right-hander coming back to pitch a scoreless frame in the second that included the pair of whiffs. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports Dunn unveiled a new-grip changeup during the outing and also impressed with a fastball that consistently hit 95 mph and ticked up as high as 96. "It's just kind of got to the point of where it's game time, now let's get it on the plate," Dunn said. "Before it was create as much movement as possible, get this stuff as sharp as we can. And now that we're in games, get on the plate and see how efficient we can execute pitches."