Chris Carpenter (shoulder, neck) threw 40-plus pitches of live batting practice on Monday. "It was a good first step," said Carpenter, who has been throwing bullpens for the past six weeks. "Basically, it was the same exact thing that we've done the last two times except we threw some hitters in there." Carp indicated that he likely has a couple more live BP sessions before he'll be ready for a rehab assignment. Matt Adams, who was one of the hitters standing in on the session, was impressed with how the righty looked. "He was treating it like he was pitching in a game. Everything had movement," Adams said. "His curveball was sharp, his changeup had good fade to it and his fastball would run -- and he cut a couple, too."