Zack Wheeler was scratched from weekend start due to freak finger injury

Phillies pitcher Zach Wheeler was scratched from his Saturday with a bizarre injury.

The 2020 season had been going so well for Zach Wheeler. Maybe too well. So the universe hit him with a freak injury.

The Phillies pitcher snagged the nail on his middle finger while putting on his pants, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He can’t pitch on Saturday as a result.

Oh. That’s…well….Oh.

Zach Wheeler injured his finger while putting on his pants.

Of all the ways you could injure your finger, pulling up your pants is not the one most people would choose. It’s embarrassing for one. It’s also a bit mindboggling.

Joe Girardi’s response pretty much sums it up: “Can’t make this up.”

The Phillies lost the first game of the seven-game series with the Miami Marlins on Thursday and have to get through a double-header on Friday. Wheeler was scheduled to go against Jose Urina on Saturday night.

Now Philadelphia will have to switch things up on Saturday, with hopes of bringing Wheeler back on Monday to close out the series.

It’s an unfortunate stretch of games to have Wheeler unavailable. The Phillies are second in the NL East behind The Braves, but they have only a half-game advantage on Miami. Wheeler’s start could matter quite a bit.

The concern now is what impact this layoff might have on Wheeler’s form. It’s easy to call a torn nail a minor injury, but pitchers have been thrown for a loop by less.

Wheeler has proven to be a top-tier pitcher so far this season. He is 6-2 with an ERA of 2.47, good for 10th in the majors. He last pitched on Sept. 7 against the Nationals when he allowed three runs in six innings. The start before that he pitched a shutout against his former team, the Mets.