It looked as if NL Central fans would be treated to a good old-fashioned brawl Thursday when the Reds and Brewers cleared the benches, but the meeting around home plate ended with more hugs than punches.
Reds slugger Joey Votto started the ordeal by arguing a strike call with home-plate umpire Roberto Ortiz. And after a lengthy exchange, Brewers catcher Erik Kratz rose from his crouch to tell Votto how he felt about the situation.
Benches clear in Cincinnati after Joey Votto argues with home plate umpire, Jesus Aguilar defuses the situation by hugging everyone. #Brewers #Reds pic.twitter.com/WfFgTCuABh
— Michael Neuvert (@dopb_29) June 29, 2018
From there both benches cleared for about 60 seconds before everyone returned to their positions smiling.
"There was just a little bit of a misunderstanding at the plate and other than both of us standing our ground, there was really nothing to it,” Votto said after the game (via the Cincinnati Enquirer). “I think it escalated into something that wasn't necessarily ... that's pretty standard for ball. Two players have a disagreement and both sides kind of get in the middle of it. But really it was nothing.”
Kratz had fun with the situation after the game saying: “Completely blown out of proportion, that’s all. We were discussing the Canadian dollar and flawed systems in our two governments. He was coming from a different side of it and we were just discussing those kinds of things.”
Thursday was just another chapter in a testy week for Votto, who was ejected from the Reds’ game against the Braves on Wednesday for arguing balls and strikes.