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Kupper and Guzman return to active status

August 28, 2005 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Yuma Scorpions News Release


(Yuma, AZ) - The Yuma Scorpions announced today that they have activated starting pitcher Dustin Kupper and catcher/1st baseman Jacob Guzman, while placing starting pitcher Rusty Meacham on the 7-day disabled list, and placing starting pitcher Rafael Pina on the suspended list. The moves were announced just prior to the Scorpions' game with the Mesa Miners Saturday night.

The return of Kupper will certainly provide some stability to a starting rotation that has been decimated by sore arms and serious injuries over the last month. "Kup" suffered a deep ankle sprain all the way back on July 6th in Mesa, but continued to play through it and pitched very well, winning 3 of his last 4 decisions. But on his off-days, Kupper was in extreme pain, and he and the coaching and training staffs became concerned about why the injury wasn't healing. Kupper was finally put on the DL August 16th after being scratched from a start to allow Kupper to stay off the ankle. Kupper returns to action with a 6-3 record, and a 4.04 ERA. Meanwhile, Guzman was just starting to come into his own as a catcher, 1st baseman and even as a pitcher when he suffered a hand injury in Chico in mid-June. After having it examined, Guzman was placed on the inactive list (meaning he would have to be out a minimum of 30 days) on June 27th. Before the injury, Guzman was hitting .319 with 1 homer and 13 RBI in 18 games.

Meanwhile, the moving of Meacham to disabled status surprises no one, since his severe ankle sprain from last Saturday's game in Fullerton has been well-documented. Meacham suffered the injury while trying to beat the Flyers' Rich Pohle to the 1st base bag on a grounder in the 6th inning. He landed on the bag awkwardly, and then landed in a heap, lying on the ground for nearly a minute before getting up and limping to the Scorpions' dugout. Meacham saw doctors after the Scorpions returned to town earlier this week, and was told he would miss at least 3-4 weeks, thus ending his season. Meacham's numbers in 2005? A 4-7 record with one complete game win, and a 5.54 ERA. Rusty struck out 61 while walking only 10 in 91 innings. Meanwhile, the Scorpions have placed Rafael Pina on the suspended list after Pina left the team voluntarily earlier this week. Pina was only with the team about a week, and struggled mightily in his 2 appearances. Pina lost both games he started-to Fullerton and Japan-giving up 8 earned runs on 11 hits in just 5 1/3 innings.

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