Giancarlo Stanton’s incredible season with the Miami Marlins took a turn for the worse Thursday.
Stanton was hit in the face by a pitch from Mike Fiers in the fifth inning of Miami’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Stanton remained on the ground for several minutes before exiting in an ambulance.
Stanton, who was bleeding from the face, was placed onto a stretcher before being loaded into the ambulance. Trainers from both teams rushed to his aid. It doesn’t appear Stanton ever left consciousness.
The home plate umpire ruled that Stanton swung at the pitch that struck him. Reed Johnson replaced Stanton and was hit on the hand by Fiers’ next pitch. The benches then emptied, and Casey McGehee, who was on deck, was ejected. Marlins manager Mike Redmond also was tossed.
Stanton is very much in the National League MVP discussion. The 24-year-old entered Thursday hitting .287 with 37 home runs and 105 RBIs.
UPDATE (11:20 p.m.): The Marlins’ Twitter account recently sent out an update on Stanton’s status.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Marlins/status/510264406148927488 align=’center’]