Brewers win emotionally charged game against Marlins

MILWAUKEE (WITI)--- Two pitches made for a scary and then tense few minutes at Miller Park in the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins.

Up 4-0 in the 5th inning, Mike Fiers pitch to Giancarlo Stanton hit Stanton in the face as he swung. Stanton immediately fell to the ground and stayed down bleeding from a laceration on his face until he was taken away on an ambulance. Fiers was clearly upset by what had happened. Reed Johnson took over the at bat for the injured Stanton and Fiers first pitch to him was also near Johnson's face. It hit him in the hand as he too swung. The umpires ruled it a strike out. On deck hitter Casey McGehee began yelling at the umpires. But Fiers felt the verbal onslaught was directed to him. Both dugouts emptied as Fiers emotions began to take over. Pitching coach Rick Kranitz had to restrain Fiers. In the meantime, McGehee's emotions also were running high as he was restrained from arguing with the umpires. He was ejected along with manager Mike Redmond as the situation began to settle.

Before the escalation of tempers, the Brewers had been riding the arm of Fiers who ended up pitching 5 scoreless innings, striking out 8.

Offensively, the Brewers got on the board when Ryan Braun hit a long home run to right center field in the 2nd inning giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead. It was Braun's 19th home run of the season and his 230th as a Brewer, tying him for 2nd in Brewers history with Prince Fielder. In the 3rd inning Aramis Ramirez hit a ground rule double to left that scored Carlos Gomez extending their lead to 2-0. An inning later, it was Matt Clark hitting his 2nd home run in as many nights, a solo shot to left to give Milwaukee a 3-0 cushion. Scooter Gennett added an RBI single in the inning accounting for all of the Brewers scoring.

With the win, the Brewers gain a game on the St. Louis Cardinals who lost to the Cincinnati Reds 1-0. They also move past the Atlanta Braves in the race to the second wild card spot where they are a game and a half behind the Pittsburgh Pirates who also won Thursday.

The Brewers open a 3 game series with the Reds Friday.