Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins was hit in the eye by a fastball pitch from the Milwaukee Brewers’ Mike Fiers Thursday night and was taken off the field for medical attention.

Stanton Hit By Pitch, Suffers Multiple Facial Fractures

Stanton, outfielder and star player for the Marlins was up at bat when Fiers threw an 88 mph fastball that hit him square in the face, knocking him off his feet. Bleeding and clearly in pain, Stanton was carried off the field and taken to a nearby hospital, where he received a CT scan and X-rays.

Adding insult to injury, the umpire did not award Stanton a base for being hit, instead ruling it a strike. Pinch-hitter Reed Johnson went out to take Stanton’s place, and Fiers, who was kept in the game, hit him on the first pitch. Luckily, Johnson was only hit in the hand, but Fiers was clearly shaken, and the Marlins were running out of patience. The umpire again called a strike, causing the Marlins’ manager, Mike Redmond, to become irate. Redmond was eventually ejected from the game.

Redmond later said he was upset by Fiers’ attitude throughout the ordeal. “He hit a guy in the mouth, No. 1. No. 2, after he hit Reed in the hand, he looks in our dugout, throws his hands up in the air like, ‘Hey, why you guys mad?’ You 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?” Redmond said.

The Miami Marlins kept fans updated on Stanton’s condition, confirming that he “suffered a laceration on the left side of his face,” and was being taken in for more tests as the game continued without him.

On Friday, the Marlins again took to Twitter, saying that, after being examined, Stanton received stitches for his lacerations, but has also suffered “multiple facial fractures” and “dental damage.” They do not believe Stanton’s injuries will require surgery, and Stanton was given the green light to be discharged from the hospital and travel back home to Miami.

In their tweets, the Marlins also thanked the Milwaukee Brewers’ medical staff who were on the scene after Stanton was hit.

Stanton himself wrote a short tweet to his fans, thanking them for their support and prayers.

Fiers Apologizes, Says Hit Was Not Intentional

Stanton may have returned to Twitter, but he has yet to respond to Fiers, who sent out a series of tweets to Stanton Thursday night, apologizing. “I am deeply sorry about what happened tonight. I can’t imagine what you and your family are going through…my thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. I feel horrible and hope for a speedy recovery,” Fiers wrote.

Fiers insists that he did not intentionally hit Stanton, and it seems that the Marlins are not going against his statement. However, later in the game, a clearly aggravated Miami pitcher Anthony DeSclafani hit Carlos Gomez with a pitch and was immediately ejected from the game.

After the game, won 4-2 by Milwaukee, an emotional Fiers briefly spoke to the press, saying, “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.”

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.