MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers kept pace in the chase for the National League's second Wild Card spot by beating the Marlins on Thursday, 4-2, in a game that included multiple delays and ejections after Miami star Giancarlo Stanton was struck in the face during a chilling moment in the fifth inning.Ryan Braun homered in his return to the Brewers' lineup and Matt Clark went deep for the second straight night, solo shots that backed starter Mike Fiers during an otherwise solid outing cut short after the series of events in the fifth confused 34,028 fans at Miller Park. 
The final result gave the Brewers their first back-to-back victories in more than three weeks, while Fiers logged his sixth victory in seven Brewers starts. Beginning Aug. 9, when Fiers joined the starting rotation in place of an injured Matt Garza, the Crew has won 12 games. Fiers has been the pitcher of record for six of them. The Brewers remained 1 1/2 games behind the Pirates in the NL Wild Card standings. The idle Braves fell one-half game behind the Crew.Fiers logged five scoreless innings, with three hits, three walks and eight strikeouts, the last of which spanned two Marlins batters and resulted in Stanton being carted from the field with a gruesome facial injury.Stanton was struck on the left side of the face while in the act of swinging, according to the ruling from home-plate umpire Jeff Kellogg, at an 88-mph fastball. Stanton was carefully placed on a gurney and taken to a local hospital for care. He suffered a facial laceration.Stanton's replacement, Reed Johnson, inherited an 0-and-2 count and was hit on the right hand by Fiers' first pitch, again, according to Kellogg, while in the act of swinging. Before Kellogg could render his ruling -- an inning-ending strikeout of Stanton -- Marlins players rushed the field, where they were met by Brewers players. Miami manager Mike Redmond and third baseman Casey McGehee were ejected, and when the field was finally cleared, Kellogg warned both benches.When Marlins reliever Anthony DeSclafani struck the Brewers' Carlos Gomez with a pitch in the sixth inning, DeSclafani and Marlins bench coach Rob Leary were ejected by rule.The Marlins halved their deficit in the eighth inning when center fielder Marcell Ozuna connected for a two-run home run against Will Smith. Ozuna homered in each of the four games in the series.Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
The final result gave the Brewers their first back-to-back victories in more than three weeks, while Fiers logged his sixth victory in seven Brewers starts. Beginning Aug. 9, when Fiers joined the starting rotation in place of an injured Matt Garza, the Crew has won 12 games. Fiers has been the pitcher of record for six of them. The Brewers remained 1 1/2 games behind the Pirates in the NL Wild Card standings. The idle Braves fell one-half game behind the Crew.Fiers logged five scoreless innings, with three hits, three walks and eight strikeouts, the last of which spanned two Marlins batters and resulted in Stanton being carted from the field with a gruesome facial injury.Stanton was struck on the left side of the face while in the act of swinging, according to the ruling from home-plate umpire Jeff Kellogg, at an 88-mph fastball. Stanton was carefully placed on a gurney and taken to a local hospital for care. He suffered a facial laceration.Stanton's replacement, Reed Johnson, inherited an 0-and-2 count and was hit on the right hand by Fiers' first pitch, again, according to Kellogg, while in the act of swinging. Before Kellogg could render his ruling -- an inning-ending strikeout of Stanton -- Marlins players rushed the field, where they were met by Brewers players. Miami manager Mike Redmond and third baseman Casey McGehee were ejected, and when the field was finally cleared, Kellogg warned both benches.When Marlins reliever Anthony DeSclafani struck the Brewers' Carlos Gomez with a pitch in the sixth inning, DeSclafani and Marlins bench coach Rob Leary were ejected by rule.The Marlins halved their deficit in the eighth inning when center fielder Marcell Ozuna connected for a two-run home run against Will Smith. Ozuna homered in each of the four games in the series.Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
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