Marlins Giancarlo Stanton Hospitalized After Taking Fastball To Face
MILWAUKEE (AP/CBS) — Miami Marlins superstar Giancarlo Stanton was hospitalized Thursday night after getting hit by a fastball from Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers.
Stanton sustained multiple facial fractures, dental damage and cuts that needed stitches after being struck in a 4-2 loss to the Brewers.
Marlins manager Mike Redmond said Stanton, the major league RBI leader and a top candidate for the NL MVP award, is likely was done for the season.
Fiers hit Reed Johnson in the hand with his next pitch, and that triggered a bench-clearing brawl.
Fiers said he did not want to get into what happened after Johnson was hit.
"It was heat of the moment stuff," Fiers said. "I just want to make sure that Stanton is OK. I just want to send my thoughts and prayers and everything to 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."
Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy said Fiers was trying to get a fastball up to Stanton.
"(Fiers) gets a lot of (strikeouts) on fastballs up, and the ball just got away from him," he said. "You saw what happened. It was definitely a scary moment. You never wish that on anybody. It's just a freak accident."
Johnson said the injury was devastating to the Marlins.
"The reason it's a tough one is we've probably lost the MVP of the National League for the rest of the year," he said. "I've been around for a couple of those. I saw it with Marlon Byrd and Jason Heyward. It's obviously going to take time to get him back."
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
MORE SPORTS COVERAGE FROM CBS BOSTON
