You've got a couple of options here - I personally have remapped my Caps Lock key to escape (not many downsides, besides limiting my ability to post humorous trolling messages).
You can also use Ctrl-[ which I believe essentially sends an escape character to whatever program you happen to be running.
You can also use Ctrl-[ which I believe essentially sends an escape character to whatever program you happen to be running.
Both options should save your pinky!