Encarnacion suffers minor facial burns!

Fireworks accident sends third baseman to hospital.

Blue Jays third baseman Edwin Encarnacion was discharged from a Miami hospital Saturday after suffering first- and second-degree burns to his face when he was hit by fireworks during a New Year's celebration in his native Dominican Republic, according to a report by ESPNdeportes.com.

Encarnacion was treated for minor facial injuries to the front and right side of his face after he was struck by a firecracker rocket near his jaw and it exploded.

"Thank God all is well with my face. I have no fractures or serious damage and will not need any surgery," Encarnacion told ESPNdeportes.com on the phone as he left Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. "The doctors say I'll have to go a week without sun, but I can train without problems in two weeks."

Encarnacion told the Web site the incident occurred during a family New Year's celebration at his home in La Romana, which is in the eastern part of the Dominican Republic.

Encarnacion said one of his brothers lit a firecracker that was supposed to go up but instead it went sideways and struck Encarnacion in the face. He went to a local clinic in the Dominican Republic on Friday but he was later transported to Miami, where he saw a face specialist for his injuries.

"I was treated very well in the Dominican but when doctors started talking about operations in the face, I contacted my agent, Paul Kinzer, to look for a private flight and take me to a hospital specializing in burns," Encarnacion said.

Encarnacion traveled with his fiancée, Jennifer Pena, the eldest daughter of Yankees' bench coach Tony Pena, to Miami to get treated for his injuries.

"The kid is well. He was taken to the United States for precaution," Pena told ESPNdeportes.com from Santo Domingo.

Encarnacion, who will turn 27 next week, hit .225 with 13 HRs and 39 RBIs in 85 games with Cincinnati and Toronto in 2009.