Giancarlo Stanton hit in face with pitch, suffers fractures and dental damage

Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins slumped to the ground in a sickening scene after right-hander Mike Fiers of the Milwaukee Brewers hit him in the face with a fastball in the top of the fifth inning Thursday night. After medical staff attended Stanton on the ground for nearly five minutes, they lifted him via stretcher and backboard onto a cart and drove him from Miller Park to a nearby hospital. The Associated Press reported that Stanton's father was attending the game and rode with him.

 Joe Frisaro of MLB.com later reported that "Stanton suffered a facial laceration requiring stitches, multiple facial fractures and dental damage."

Stanton, the National League's home run leader, actually had swung at the ball — in what looked like self-defense — which meant it counted as a strike and not a hit by pitch. Even more bizarre, Stanton's replacement, Reed Johnson, was hit on the hand by Fiers on the next pitch, and umpires determined that Johnson had swung at that pitch, too, for strike three.

"I've never seen a guy get hit in the mouth and called for a swing," Redmond told reporters. "For the first-base ump to say he swung at that pitch, when [Stanton is] coughing up blood... what a joke."

That determination further angered the already upset Marlins, with on-deck hitter Casey McGehee among those yelling at umpires for making such a conclusion. Fiers, apparently responding to the visitors dugout, motioned for any angry Marlins to join him on the field.

Benches cleared and although no punches were thrown, emotions were running hot. McGehee and Marlins manager Mike Redmond were ejected. Fiers was angry because the Brewers decided on their own to pull him from the game. Both sides were warned by the umpires that the next suspicious-looking pitch would lead to more ejections.

In the bottom of the sixth, Marlins right-hander Anthony DeSclafani hit Brewers slugger Carlos Gomez in the elbow and was ejected, along with bench coach Rob Leary, the acting manager.

After the game, Fiers' voice cracked as he apologized for hitting Stanton by accident:

"I just want to send my thoughts and prayers 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 [his] teammates, their fans, his family. It's just tough."