Cansecos injured in Scorps season opening DH

It's only been one day, but the Yuma Scorpions have lost both Cansecos due to injury. While they are expected to return soon, it's safe to say the Canseco experience got off to a sour start on Tuesday night at Desert Sun Stadium.

Adding insult to injury was the season opener, as the Scorps lost 9-5 in the first game of a doubleheader against the visiting Calgary Vipers. Though the Scorpions won 5-2 in the second game, opening day will certainly be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Ozzie was the first Canseco to go down, as he strained his left quadriceps in the fifth inning of Game 1 trying to leg out an infield single. Then came Jose Canseco, who exited Game 2 with a left biceps strain after swinging during his at-bat in the bottom of the first.

"I guess I hyperextended my arm on that changeup," Jose Canseco said. "When I extended it I felt a little sharp tear, like a sharp, pull pain. We'll see how it is tomorrow. ... It felt like a sharp knife went in there or something. Hopefully it's a bad strain or a pull."

Jose Canseco grimaced as he walked toward the clubhouse beyond the outfield fence following the game, carrying bats in his left hand. Jose Canseco said he couldn't fully extend his arm and that he didn't know if the Scorpions could afford to pay for an MRI to diagnose the injury. He said he's never had a similar injury and that his left biceps was feeling sore for a week leading up to the season opener.

Yuma leadoff man and center fielder Ray Stokes also had to leave the second game with a pulled hamstring and is day-to-day. Ozzie Canseco was held out of the nightcap for precautionary reasons, but is expected to be back in the lineup when the team opens a six-game series against the visiting Chico Outlaws Thursday.

“I was just hustling down the line,” Ozzie Canseco said. “Just wanted to make sure I made a good example in terms of hustling on a ground ball. Toward the latter part of the run, I felt the quad just pull a little bit.”

But before Ozzie Canseco would leave the first game, he was able to rope a double to left field and score two runs, giving the Scorpions an early 4-2 lead. He would come around to score on a single by Juan Camacho.

“He still jammed me a little bit, but I got enough of it to get that double and help out with a couple RBIs,” Ozzie Canseco said. “It's a good feeling. First game, get that first hit out of the way.”

But the 5-2 lead would be erased in the top of the fourth, when Calgary pushed across four runs to take the lead for good. Scorpions righty Jon Huizinga lasted three-plus innings and was charged with six earned runs on six hits and two walks in the season-opening loss.

The Cansecos also suffered a setback in the coaching department, as they forgot to write down a pitcher's name on the lineup card before the first game. So when player-manager Jose Canseco tried to put J.J. Leaper into the game as a reliever in the fourth inning, Leaper was ruled ineligible and couldn't pitch.

“I was in shock, saying, ‘OK, this can't be happening,'” Jose Canseco said. “Hopefully, this doesn't happen again.”

Yuma enjoyed much better pitching in Game 2, as starter David Cross tossed five innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out five. The Scorps jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through two innings, taking advantage of some sloppy Calgary defense.

In the second inning, Yuma catcher Zach Larson delivered an RBI triple to right-field gap before scoring on a wild pitch. Larson went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.

Despite the bittersweet tone to the evening, Jose Canseco said he was happy to get back on the diamond.

“It's great,” Jose Canseco said. “We're going to make a few mistakes coming in. Everything's sort of new to us, we're trying to sort who's doing what, but we should be all right.”