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Benches cleared in Milwaukee as emotions ran hot following Brewers starting pitcher Mike Fiers hitting two consecutive batters, including Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton. Unfortunately, Stanton was also knocked out of the game in a scary moment.
Stanton, who is perhaps the odds-on favorite to win NL MVP this season, took an 88 MPH fastball from Mike Fiers squarely on his cheek and immediately went to the ground. A cart was called on to the field as Stanton was carted off as quickly as possible while a large amount of blood appeared to be flowing from somewhere on his face. Stanton was showing some movement, which is good but obviously it was a horrible scene. Nothing but best wishes for Stanton, who will hopefully have a quick and full recovery.
Reed Johnson came in to finish Stanton's at-bat with an 0-2 count. On the very first pitch from Fiers to Johnson, the ball ran high and inside and hit Johnson on the hand as he was swinging. Because his swing crossed the plane of the plate, the umpire ruled him out.
That, along with the fact Fiers let a ball go high and up immediately after Stanton got hit, upset the Marlins and first baseman Casey McGehee, who had been waiting in the on-deck circle. McGehee was talking to the umpires about the call, and it appeared Fiers may have thought McGehee was talking to him. As words were exchanged, both dugouts cleared. Fiers was immediately pulled far away from the fracas by Brewers personnel while McGehee ended up being ejected during the fray.
Mostly, it ended up with just some harsh words spoken and nothing physical. It's hard to blame McGehee for being perhaps a bit sensitive given the situation. It's also tough to see Fiers look visibly rattled. Clearly he wasn't trying to spot the ball where he did to Johnson and he was obviously very emotional after hitting Stanton and while being held away from the crowd.
Fiers was removed from the game by Ron Roenicke before the next inning as the Brewers manager clearly must not have thought it was wise for his pitcher to continue while so visibly shaken.
All in all a rough time in Miller Park. Again, here's hoping that Stanton comes out of this alright.