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Zack Wheeler took the coldest shot at the Blue Jays
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Zack Wheeler took the coldest shot at the Blue Jays

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert  |  Last updated Aug 8, 2026 3:21 PM ET
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Zack Wheeler has no love lost for the reigning AL pennant winners.

The Philadelphia Phillies righty Wheeler drew the start on Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the fourth inning of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa., Wheeler was on the mound when Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins began loudly complaining about an alleged illegal delivery by Wheeler.

Popkins, who claimed that Wheeler’s foot was coming off the pitching rubber, was ultimately ejected for the outburst. Wheeler also then proceeded to direct a “F–k you” to Popkins and the rest of the Toronto dugout.

Here is the video of the sequence.

After the game, which the Blue Jays went onto win 5-4, Wheeler was asked about the incident. Wheeler, who took the loss with four earned runs over his 5.1 innings pitched, said that he had been pitching that way for virtually his entire career and proceeding to get in a ruthless shot at Toronto.

“They’ve lost a lot of games over there, so they’re probably trying to pick some things up to complain about,” said Wheeler. Here is the video of his full remarks.

For the three-time MLB All-Star Wheeler, social media videos from Friday did indeed show him appearing to be decently off to the side while delivering pitches against the Blue Jays. But Wheeler is no stranger to feeling disrespected and then lashing out, which he just did against Major League Baseball last month.

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