Rounding Third: Scary night in Milwaukee

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Some people think the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a major league pitch. That might be true, but how much harder is it after taking a fastball square in the face?

Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton will have to answer that question next season after getting drilled flush in the left side of his face in the top of the fifth inning on Thursday on a pitch from Milwaukee Brewers starter Mike Fiers.

Stanton was bleeding from the mouth as he was lifted onto a stretcher and taken off the field in an ambulance cart. After the game, the Marlins confirmed their star suffered facial lacerations requiring stitches, multiple facial fractures and dental damage after undergoing X-rays and a CT scan at a local hospital.

"He didn't lose consciousness out on the field, but he was bleeding heavily out of his mouth," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said before learning the extent of Stanton's injuries.

Stanton, of course, was in the midst of the best year of his young career, as he led the National League with 37 home runs and 105 RBI and was probably going to be one of the three finalists for the league's MVP award.

"He was awake, which was good," said third baseman Casey McGehee, who was the on-deck hitter at the time of the . "You could tell it got him good, right away. It's tough to see. It's tough to see a guy in that condition.

Amazingly, the pitch that hit Stanton was called a strike, as he went all the way around trying to avoid getting hit.

Everyone was shaken up after the incident, including Fiers, who hit the very next batter he faced, setting off a benches-clearing incident that saw Marlins manager Mike Redmond and McGehee get ejected.

The second pitch that hit Reed Johnson was also called a strike.

"I've never seen anything like that, and I've definitely never seen two swings called on those plays. That's for sure," Redmond said. "I've never seen a guy get hit in the mouth and called for a swing. He's out there bleeding at home plate, and for the first-base ump to say he swung at that pitch ... he's coughing up blood. What a joke."

In hindsight Milwaukee skipper Ron Roenicke probably should have lifted Fiers after he hit Stanton, just for his own mental well being.

"It was very tough. I've never in my life experienced something like that," said Fiers. "It was very hard for me to take in everything at the moment and come back and throw another pitch. 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."

Now if Fiers had trouble getting back to business after the incident, how will Stanton react next year when he returns?

You'd like to think that everything will be fine, but who knows? Boston's Tony Conigliaro was never the same after he took a pitch in the face that left him with a linear fracture of the left cheekbone and a dislocated jaw with severe damage to his left retina.

As for the Marlins, well, they had an uphill battle anyway to nab one of the final two playoff spots in the National League. Without Stanton, those chances are probably all but nil.

This was never supposed to be a playoff season for the Marlins. They overachieved and are ahead of schedule. With a healthy Jose Fernandez back in the fold next season Miami is going to be a trendy preseason playoff pick.

Let's hope Stanton is the one leading the offensive charge.

SOME OTHER THOUGHTS

- The American League playoff picture got a bit muddled on Friday when Baltimore's Chris Davis was suspended 25 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for an amphetamine. Davis is only hitting .196 and his power production is nearly half of what it was a year ago, when he led the AL with 53 homers and 138 RBI, but it's still a blow to a Baltimore team that is days away from clinching an American League East title.

Luckily, the O's are getting all the power they need from Nelson Cruz. Ironic, huh? Davis won't appeal the ban and could be back for the O's should they reach the World Series.

Let's be honest Davis hasn't contributed much to the O's success this season. He is still a presence, though. Still, it's not as if they are losing Cruz or Adam Jones.

- Pittsburgh's Francisco Liriano might be the most important player down the stretch in the National League. The Pirates right now are fighting for their playoff lives and currently hold a 1 1/2-game lead on the Brewers for the second wild card spot. If they can get Liriano to be the pitcher he was last year, they could become a tough out in what looks like a wide-open NL.

Liriano has nowhere near resembled the pitcher who won 16 games a year ago, but lately he has. In fact, he has allowed just two runs over his last four starts. Granted, his last two wins have come against Philadelphia and Chicago, but it's a start.

If he is firing on all cylinders, I'd take my chances with Liriano on the hill in a one-game wild card contest,

- The best race in baseball is going to be the American League Central. Is there anyone not rooting for the Kansas City Royals? How great would it be to have the Royals back in the postseason for the first time since 1985?

- By the way, there is a real good chance that both the Tigers and Oakland Athletics miss the playoffs. If you would have told me that back on Aug. 1 I would have said you were crazy.

- Series of the weekend will be in San Francisco where the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers jockey for position in the National League West. The Dodgers enter the series with a two game lead. Both are probably heading to the playoffs, but nobody wants to deal with a one-game playoff. It's all about winning the division.