Braves' Hudson faces hitters

Chicago — Tim Hudson took another step in his elbow-surgery rehab Monday when he faced Braves hitters in an early afternoon round of batting practice at Wrigley Field.

"I'm still not where I want to be arm-strength wise, but it feels pretty good," said Hudson, who threw 20-25 pitches against Prado, Brooks Conrad, Gregor Blanco and Diory Hernandez. "I'm happy where I'm at with a month-and-a-half [to go]."

That's the tentative timetable for his return to the Braves' rotation, 12 months after he underwent ligament-transplant surgery. He's scheduled to make his first minor-league rehab start in two weeks.