New York Mets co-ace Max Scherzer suffered a dog bite on his pitching hand, he confirmed Saturday. The injury is not expected to delay his eventual return from the oblique injury that has sidelined him since he exited his last start on May 18, however.
Scherzer tweeted out the following statement Saturday afternoon:
Just clearing a few things up. My dog Rafi hurt her leg on a run. She was howling in pain and I went to calm her down by putting my hands on her. When I did that she bit my right hand. Fortunately it wasn't a bad bite. I took one day off from throwing and was able to long toss the next day. This will have no effect on my rehab and this is literally a non story.
The New York Post originally reported that the injury was to Scherzer's left, non-pitching hand. Scherzer is still expected to return to the Mets' rotation at some point in July, barring any setbacks with the oblique injury.
This season, Scherzer has pitched to a 2.54 ERA and 5.36 K/BB ratio in 49 ⅔ innings across eight starts. In other words, the future Hall of Famer, even at age 37, remains capable of pitching at near peak level. Scherzer's absence from the Mets' rotation is particularly notable in light of the fact that Jacob deGrom has yet to pitch this season after being diagnosed with a scapular stress reaction late in spring training. Despite the pitching injuries, Buck Showalter's club is in first place in the NL East and on pace for 105 wins.
As for Scherzer's unlikely injury to his right hand, it comes mere days after teammate and shortstop Francisco Lindor was scratched from Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers because he accidentally slammed his fingers in the door to his hotel room.
