Stanton not expected to need surgery
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton is not expected to need surgery after being hit in the face with a pitch, the team announced Friday, while Stanton said he was feeling “much better” after a scary incident in Milwaukee.
Stanton suffered multiple facial fractures, dental damage and needed stitches to close cuts on his face after he was struck flush on the left side of the face by Brewers starter Mike Fiers on Thursday night.
He was expected to be discharged from the hospital Friday and return to Miami for further evaluation, the Marlins said.
Stanton thanked fans on Twitter for their support.
“I’m much better today & deeply appreciate your prayers!” he wrote.
The positive updates Friday stood in contrast to the scene inside Miller Park the night before.
After Stanton was hit, he was loaded onto a stretcher on his side and driven off the field in an ambulance cart. There was so much blood near home plate that the grounds crew came out to clean up.
“It’s devastating for us. Devastating,” Marlins manager Mike Redmond said after the game. “I mean for his season to end like that … that’s not good.”
The pitch that hit Stanton was called a strike after he was ruled to have made a swing. Fiers appeared shaken, but remained in the game and hit pinch-hitter Reed Johnson with the next pitch. Johnson also was ruled to have swung.
Casey McGehee, who was on deck, had a verbal altercation with Fiers, causing the benches to empty. McGehee and Redmond were both ejected.
Warnings were issued to both teams, so Miami pitcher Anthony DeSclafani and bench coach Rob Leary were ejected in the sixth after DeSclafani hit Carlos Gomez with a pitch.
Fiers tweeted to Stanton on Thursday night, writing: “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.”
Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said Fiers was “pretty upset.”
“He knows he didn’t do it on purpose,” Roenicke said. “Everybody knows that and he wants to make sure that they know that and I think that’s case.”
The Marlins, still in the hunt for a wild-card spot in the NL, started a three-game series in Philadelphia on Friday. Stanton leads the NL with 37 home runs and is first in the majors with 105 RBI.
Categorized in: MLB
Tags: Florida, Florida Marlins, Marlins