MILWAUKEE—Milwaukee All-Star Ben Sheets left Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning with a sprained middle finger on his right hand, but team officials said they didn’t think the injury was serious.
The right-hander threw a pitch to Colorado’s Todd Helton and immediately grimaced in pain. After meeting on the mound for a couple minutes with head trainer Roger Caplinger and manager Ned Yost, the Brewers ace was removed from the game with the Rockies leading 1-0.
“I’m kind of optimistic. I think I’ll be alright,” Sheets said. “Hopefully, it’s like a groin strain. You come out, you be smart and hopefully in five days you go about your business.”
Sheets said it was a sprain of the top knuckle on the finger. He said he first felt pain on the second to last pitch he threw.
“I felt something pop, snap—I don’t know what it was,” Sheets said. “I knew when the trainer got out there, that there wasn’t going to be any more pitches for me.”
X-rays were negative, but the team said Sheets would undergo an MRI on Monday if it continues to bother him.
“It’s really just one more thing that’s giving me fits right now,” Sheets said, referring to a blister on his right hand that caused him to leave a game early on May 22.
Sheets (10-4) has a 3.39 ERA and had won six of seven starts before Saturday’s game.
Yost said he wasn’t going to let Sheets continue with Yovani Gallardo fresh in the bullpen.
“The trainer put some pressure on it and it was a little painful,” Yost said. “I wasn’t going to take any chances with him trying to battle through something like that, maybe change his delivery and take a chance on hurting his arm.”
