Jon Lester, who missed a Cactus League start on Saturday because of a "dead arm," is no longer dealing with any issues.

Lester faced hitters on Thursday and threw without pain or discomfort.

"It was good," The Chicago Cubs left-hander said. "It felt good. Everything felt good."

He threw 54 pitches, 33 for strikes, over 3 2/3 innings against Minor League hitters.

"I thought he looked really comfortable and his arm was working well," Joe Maddon said. "I thought as the game went along, maybe in the fourth inning, he was coming out of his delivery a little bit. But I thought overall it was really good.

"What I was really watching was him, watching his face. It never seemed like anything bothered him, so his arm felt great. He threw some good fastballs, some nice cutters, yeah, yeah, yeah, but he felt comfortable and that's the most important thing. I liked what I saw today."