Dunning allowed one unearned run on three hits and one walk while striking out eight over five innings in Wednesday's spring start against Cincinnati.
Dunning appears locked in for the regular season, telling Stefan Stevenson of SI.com that his delivery was in line after flying open in his previous spring start. The right-hander was also pleased with his forkball, a new pitch, which he estimated throwing about 20 times among his 90 pitches. Stevenson also confirmed with manager Bruce Bochy that Dunning and Jon Gray will split the final spring start next Tuesday against the Red Sox. That suggests his regular-season debut could be Sunday, March 31, against the Cubs or Monday, April 1, against the Rays.