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 Not only did the Marlins lose to the Brewers 4-2 at Miller Park,
but they also likely lost their best player for the near future.
Right fielder Giancarlo Stanton sustained facial fractures and
dental damage and needed stitches after being hit in the face by a
Mike Fiers fastball in the fifth inning.
He was due to remain hospitalized overnight.
The Marlins were down 4-0, but they had two on and two outs when
Stanton came up. He took a fastball for strike one, then was hit on
the left side of his face by the next pitch. He immediately dropped
to the ground, where he lay motionless for several minutes while
trainers and medical staff attended to him before he was carefully
carried to an ambulance.
"He didn't lose consciousness out on the field, but he was bleeding
heavily out of his mouth," manager Mike Redmond said. "Definitely
scary, and we're hoping that everything's going to be all right with
him."
Fiers was visibly shaken as he watched the scene unfold.
"It was very tough," said Fiers, who was still emotional during
postgame interviews. "I've never in my life experienced something
like that. It was very hard for me to take in everything at the
moment and come back and throw another pitch.
"I just want to send my thoughts and prayers and everything to
Giancarlo Stanton. You never think of throwing at somebody like
that. Never in my life has that happened. I just feel very, very sad
that I hit him. I'm sorry to their teammates, their fans, his
family. It is just tough."
In an odd twist, plate umpire Jeff Kellogg ruled that Stanton swung
at the pitch that injured him. Instead of having bases loaded for
third baseman Casey McGehee, Redmond had to send up pinch hitter
Reed Johnson to finish Stanton's plate appearance.
Fiers' next pitch hit Johnson on the hand, but Kellogg ruled that
Johnson, too, swung at the pitch. The inning was over on a strikeout
-- charged to Stanton.
That set off Miami third baseman Casey McGehee, who was on deck and
started charging toward Kellogg. McGehee backed off slightly, but at
that point both benches and both bullpens emptied. After pushing and
shoving on both sides, order was restored, and McGehee and Redmond
were ejected.
"He hit a guy in the mouth, No. 1," Redmond said of Fiers. "No. 2,
after he hit Reed in the hand, he looks in our dugout and throw his
hands up in the air like, 'Hey, why are you guys mad?' He just
knocked out our best player, hit him in the mouth, and then you just
hit another guy in the hand.
"What are we supposed to do? What type of reaction are you thinking
that we're going to give you? We just lost the MVP, hit in the
mouth. No doubt, we're trying to win games, they're trying to win
games, but you just hit a guy in the mouth.
"I've never seen a guy get hit in the mouth and called for a swing.
He's out there bleeding at home plate, and for the first base ump to
say he swung at that pitch, what a joke."
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Fiers denied any intent on either pitch.
"We were trying to just go up, and the ball got away again," he
said. "It was just really tough to settle down. A lot of tempers
were flaring. For them to think that it was intentional, it is
beyond me, and something I would never do."
Kellogg stood by his ruling, and he told a pool reporter after the
game that on both swings, he asked for help from first base umpire
D.J. Reyburn.
"We've both looked at it, and, yes, he did swing -- they both did --
at those pitches," Kellogg said. "On both of those, I went to D.J.,
and both times, he called it a swing.
"(Redmond) was frustrated. He felt both of them didn't swing, but
again, it was more a matter of being (angry) because two guys got
hit. I understand that, and I told him that we get it, but
ultimately, we still have to umpire."
Fiers (6-2) did not come out for the sixth inning, but he earned the
victory with eight strikeouts over five shutout innings.
The Brewers' offense did its part, too. Right fielder Ryan Braun and
first baseman Mark Clark each hit home runs. while second baseman
Scooter Gennett added an RBI single and third baseman Aramis Ramirez
drove in another with a double as Milwaukee won consecutive games
for the first time since Aug. 25.
"It feels like it has been a long time," said Braun, who hadn't
homered since Aug. 31. "There are still a couple weeks of baseball
left. If we can continue to play the way we have the last two days,
I think we'll be in a good position come those last few games."
All four Milwaukee runs came against Marlins right-hander Nathan
Eovaldi (6-11), who allowed eight hits and a walk over four innings.
Miami got on the board in the eighth with a two-run home run by
center fielder Marcell Ozuna, his fourth in as many games.
NOTES: Miami bench coach Rob Leary and RHP Anthony DeSclafani were
tossed after DeSclafani hit Brewers CF Carlos Gomez with a pitch in
the sixth inning. ... RF Ryan Braun returned to the Brewers' lineup
after a two-day absence caused by a nagging right thumb injury that
has been an issue for Braun since last season. ... Marlins manager
Mike Redmond said RHP Henderson Alvarez will have no restrictions
when he returns to the rotation Friday at Philadelphia. Alvarez
missed his last start because of an oblique strain.
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