In one of the strangest at-bats any one will ever see in a Major League Baseball game, two Miami Marlins batters were hit by Milwaukee Brewers starter Mike Fiers on consecutive pitches, resulting in an inning-ending strikeout and a bench-clearing scrum on the Miller Park infield.

The moment shifted the focus of a 4-2 Brewers victory – the first time the club had won back-to-back games since Aug. 24-25 – to Fiers, who has been the team’s most reliable starter since joining the rotation in early August.

Fiers, who was wild high through the first four innings, hit Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton flush on the left side of his face with two outs and two on in the top of the fifth with the Brewers leading, 4-0.

As the National League Most Valuable Player candidate lay still, Fiers was visibly shaken as medical personnel first attended to Stanton, and then removed him on a stretcher.

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"It’s very tough. I’ve never, in my life, experienced something like that," Fiers said. "It was very hard for me to take in everything at the moment and then almost come back and throw another pitch, let alone … I just want to send my thoughts and prayers and everything to Giancarlo Stanton. I would never think of throwing at somebody like that. Never in my life has that happened. I just feel very, very sad, that it hit him. I’m sorry to their teammates, their fans, his family, it’s just tough."

"For everybody, that was pretty disturbing," home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg told a pool reporter after the game. "He stayed pretty much still for the majority of the time. The trainers were out there right away and he stayed pretty much still."

The result of the pitch, however, was a strike as Kellogg ruled that Stanton offered at the pitch.

Pinch-hitter Reed Johnson stepped in with an 0-2 count, and Fiers hit him on the hand on the very next pitch.

As Johnson starts walking to first base, Kellogg steps out from behind the plate to signal that Johnson, too, offered at the pitch – striking out and ending the inning.

"Yeah, I mean we were trying to just go up, ball got away again, it was just really tough to kind of settle down," Fiers said.

Marlins third baseman Casey McGehee started in on Kellogg from the on the deck circle for the strike calls.

"They were both ruled swings," Kellogg said. "I went to the first base umpire and he definitely did swing at the pitch. We’ve both looked at it and, yes, he did swing – they both did – at those pitches. On both of those, I went to (first base umpire) D.J. (Reyburn) and both times, he called it a swing."

As Kellogg turned to address McGehee, Miami first baseman Garrett Jones began shouting at Fiers from the stop step of the Miami dugout. Fiers turned to Jones and began shouting and gesturing back, causing Jones to run out on the field.

#Brewers bullpen empties after Fiers hit Reed Johnson on the hand. Casey McGehee is livid. #Marlins https://t.co/XM0ObuqJr5 — Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) September 12, 2014

No punches were thrown, but Fiers had to be restrained and pulled off the field by Brewers pitching coach Rick Kranitz.

"A lot of tempers were flaring, but … then the .. .for them to think it was intentional is beyond me and something I would never do," Fiers said.

"I don’t want to get into all the … I mean, everyone’s tempers were flaring, it was heat of the moment stuff. I just want to make sure that Stanton’s OK and I don’t want to get into the whole feud between both teams. I understand their feelings and everything they were thinking about the situation. I understand they've got to respect their teammate and back him up. I just hope that Stanton’s OK."

McGehee and Marlins manager Mike Redmond were ejected.

An inning and a half later, Miami reliever Anthony DeSclafani hit Carlos Gomez, resulting in not only his immediate ejection, but that of Marlins bench coach Rob Leary.

The two pitches Fiers threw to Stanton and Johnson – which in the box score registered as his eighth and final strikeout in five innings – clouded a complete Brewers victory and one they needed to keep pace in the NL Central divisional and wildcard chases.

Ryan Braun returned to the lineup and hit his 230th career homerun, tying him with Prince Fielder for second all-time in franchise history. September call-up Matt Clark homered for the second time in two games, Carlos Gomez went 2-for-2 and Scooter Gennett also drove in a run.

"It’d sure be nice to win games and come in and enjoy afterward, but everybody in there feels really bad about what happened with Stanton, so hopefully he’s OK," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "I know he got hit flush. Hopefully it works out and he’s OK."

Miami announced Stanton had suffered a facial laceration and was undergoing an x-ray and a CT scan at an area hospital.

"Obviously we’re thrilled with the win, but it’s a really difficult thing when you’re playing a game to see something like that happen and all we can do is hope for the best," Braun said."Obviously he wasn’t trying to him but everybody’s thoughts are with him and it becomes pretty emotional, I think, from that point on.

Fiers improved to 6-2 and has posted a 1.75 earned run average since joining the starting rotation, but he was clearly upset about the pitches several hours after the game.

"It’s going to be tough," he said about collecting himself and moving forward. "Like I said, I’ve never been in this situation. I have to figure out something to kind of calm myself down and get back to playing baseball. We’re trying to win games here. We’re not trying to hurt anybody. We’re not going after anybody. One pitch got away and it ended up hitting him in the face and I feel terrible."

His next scheduled turn in the rotation would be in St. Louis next week.

The Brewers will host Cincinnati the next three days before heading to face the division-leading Cardinals in a three-game series beginning next Tuesday.

"It’s still a couple weeks of baseball left. If we continue to play the we have the last two days I think we’ll be in a good position come the last few games."

UPDATE: Fiers then sent the following messages to Stanton:

@Giancarlo818 I am deeply sorry about what happened tonight. I can't imagine what you and your family are going through. (Continue)... — Mike Fiers (@Fiers64) September 12, 2014

@Giancarlo818 my thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. I feel horrible and hope for a speedy recovery. — Mike Fiers (@Fiers64) September 12, 2014