MILWAUKEE - Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton was hit under the left eye by a fastball and bleeding from the face as he was driven off the field in an ambulance Thursday night in a 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. Marlins manager Mike Redmond said he expected Stanton would miss the rest of the season.
The Marlins said Stanton, the major league RBI leader and a top candidate for the NL MVP award, was being treated at a hospital for a facial cut. He also was undergoing X-rays and a CT scan after being hit by Brewers starter Mike Fiers.
"It's devastating for us. Devastating. For his season to end like that, I mean, that's not good," Redmond said.
Stanton's father was at the game and came on the field while his son was treated, and left with him in the ambulance.
It was ruled Stanton swung trying to get out of the way of the 88 mph pitch from Fiers. Reed Johnson batted for Stanton and was hit in the hand by Fiers' next pitch, triggering a bench-clearing brawl.
Johnson also was ruled to have swung at the pitch, and Casey McGehee was in the on-deck circle and started yelling at Fiers. There didn't appear to be any punches thrown and when order was restored, the umpires ejected Miami's Casey McGehee and Redmond.
Stanton immediately fell to the ground after being hit, and trainers from both teams rushed to help him. He was placed on a backboard and then a stretcher.
The All-Star outfielder tops the NL with 37 home runs and has 105 RBI, and is batting .288. Miami has 17 games left this year.
Miami reliever Anthony Desclafani hit Carlos Gomez in the sixth with a pitch and was quickly ejected by home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg. Marlins bench coach Rob Leary was also tossed.
Ryan Braun and rookie Matt Clark hit home runs for Milwaukee. The Brewers are 11/2 games behind Pittsburgh for the second NL wild-card spot.
It was the second straight win for the Brewers after they lost 13 of 14 to fall out of the NL Central Lead.
Marcell Ozuna homered in his fourth straight game for the Marlins, tying a team record.
Fiers (6-2) pitched five innings. He is 6-1 since being recalled from the minors to join the rotation Aug. 9.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth to record his 41st save in 46 chances.
Nathan Eovaldi (6-11) lasted only four innings, giving up four runs and eight hits.
Braun led off the second with his 19th home run of the season to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. It was his first home run since Aug. 31.
Clark hit the second home run of this career in the fourth. It was the second straight game that Clark, a September call-up, had homered.
Ozuna hit his 22nd homer in the eighth, a two-run shot.