ATHLETICS 11, BREWERS 4
at Phoenix
Friday, Feb. 29

Brewers at the plate: Prince Fielder was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. J.J. Hardy was 3-for-3 with base hits to center and left and an infield single. Rickie Weeks struck out in three trips to the plate. Gabe Gross knocked his first Cactus League dinger to left on a 1-0 pitch to lead off the seventh against right-hander Jeff Gray.

Athletics at the plate: The A's couldn't have drawn up the first inning of their Cactus League home opener any better. After a Travis Buck single up the middle, Mark Ellis got an infield single to third and Mike Sweeney walked, setting up Jack Cust to go deep over the left-field fence for the spring's first slam. Cust offered an encore in his next at-bat, driving a leadoff homer over the right-field fence. When Cust was walked in his third at-bat, Bobby Crosby kept the long-ball parade in step with a two-run homer to left.

Brewers on the mound: Dave Bush had a rocky first, facing eight batters and letting four runs home. He settled down in the second, allowing one baserunner via the walk and notching his first strikeout of the spring. Manny Parra followed with two innings of one-run ball, striking out one while walking one. His only hit was Cust's second homer.

Athletics on the mound: Dallas Braden had a solid start, throwing two innings and striking out three while allowing a run on three hits and a walk. Lenny DiNardo kept the Brewers at 1 with a pair of shutout innings, striking out four while allowing four hits and hitting one batter. Houston Street pitched an inning of one-hit, scoreless relief.

Cactus League records: Brewers 1-1, Athletics 1-1.

Up next: There's one negative to being raised in Tucson, Ariz., and playing for a Major League team that trains in Phoenix: You almost never get the trip south to Tucson off. That's the case for Hardy, who will be among the regulars traveling south Saturday for a game against the Rockies at Hi Corbett Field. Hardy will start his third straight game behind scheduled starter Ben Sheets, who makes his spring debut. Reliever David Riske, one of Milwaukee's offseason free agent pick-ups, is also scheduled to make his debut for the team.