Flu bug, Brewers' hitters send A's off to rocky start

<p>PHOENIX -- The Oakland A's got an early sign they might be in for rocky times Thursday in their exhibition opener.</p><p>Before they even boarded their bus for Maryvale Baseball Park to play the Milwaukee Brewers, three players were scratched from the starting lineup with a bug that is spreading through the clubhouse.</p><p>Then Opening Day starter Joe Blanton took the mound and got battered for six runs and eight hits in two innings as the A's fell 7-1 to start Cactus League play. Blanton's outing won't cause A's manager Bob Geren to lose any sleep, considering the right-hander typically gets shelled in spring training.</p><p>A bigger concern might be the bruised left knee of outfielder Ryan Sweeney, who left the game after the top of the second. Sweeney suffered the injury when he collided with Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder as he beat out an infield single. He was replaced in left field by Aaron Cunningham to start the bottom of the second.</p><p>"We'll see how he is (this) morning," Geren said.</p><p>Sweeney, competing for a roster spot after coming over from the Chicago White Sox in the Nick Swisher trade, was walking gingerly as he left the field after the game.</p><p>Thursday's original lineup had Jack Cust starting in left field, but he and catcher Kurt Suzuki were both under the weather and were scratched as a precaution. Emil Brown was inserted at left field, but he wound up not making the trip because he was sick, prompting Geren to start Sweeney.</p><p>Some players have been hit by the illness harder than others. Backup catcher Rob Bowen has been reeling for several days now, so Justin Knoedler got the start behind the plate. By the fifth inning, Geren said, Knoedler's stomach began acting up, so he replaced him with Anthony Recker.</p><p>"There's something going around here in the valley," Geren said. "We're hearing rumors of other teams that have got 25 guys down. We're telling guys to wash their hands, drink a lot of fluids, get your rest. That's all you can do."</p><p>Blanton, gearing up for the March 25 regular-season opener in Japan against the Boston Red Sox, allowed two doubles and a mammoth two-run homer to dead center by Ryan Braun during a three-run first inning. He was touched for three more runs and four hits in the second.</p><p>The plan was for him to go three innings but he was pulled after two, having reached his pitch count limit.</p><p>Before Thursday, Blanton's career ERA in Cactus League play was 6.39 ERA, as opposed to a 4.10 mark in the regular season.</p><p>"I just threw strikes, that's all I wanted to do," Blanton said. "It starts getting frustrating. I wanted to really work on my fastball command. They're just swinging at everything. So it kind of forces you to start throwing off-speed pitches."</p><p>There were bright spots for the A's. Designated hitter Dan Johnson homered to right in the eighth inning. Top prospect Carlos Gonzalez went 2-for-2 with a double after entering the game in the fifth.</p><p>The A's agreed to terms on one-year contracts for pitchers Jerry Blevins, Andrew Brown and Dana Eveland, Suzuki, first baseman Daric Barton and Cust and Sweeney.</p>