Pittsburgh vs Cincinnati quickly turned ugly in the ninth inning

It looked more like the Royal Rumble than a game of professional baseball when two teams dropped their gloves and let the fists fly.

The scenes turned ugly in a flash during the Pirates v Reds game.

This was quite the send-off for Yasiel Puig.

Puig was involved in a brawl between the Pirates and Reds on Wednesday night only minutes after news broke that Cincinnati had traded the veteran right fielder to the Indians for star pitcher Trevor Bauer as part of a three-team package that also included the Padres.

Puig was still in the Reds-Pirates game when pitcher Amir Garrett charged the Pirates dugout from the mound in the top of the ninth of an 11-4 Pittsburgh win.

It’s unclear what set off the kerfuffle, as Garrett was in the process of being removed from the game as the Pirates led 11-3.

Reports indicated that Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams, who did not play in the game, was mouthing off at Garrett from the bench.

Both dugouts emptied onto the field, and at first Puig tried to calm things down before getting into some pushing and shoving matches himself.

Here's the whole shebang pic.twitter.com/ngoXSgbQIK

— Paid man gets bored (@cjzero) July 31, 2019

“They need to get Puig off this field,” one of the Reds television announcers said.

Garrett, who had given up a home run earlier in the inning, and Puig were among those ejected. Puig exited the field to a standing ovation.

Reds manager David Bell faces a suspension after running onto the field to join the fracas after being ejected an inning earlier. He was put in a headlock by Pirates hitting coach Rick Eckstein, got himself out, and shouted at Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. In all, five Reds were ejected.

The latest dust-up in the rivalry was sparked when Pittsburgh’s Keone Kela threw up-and-in to Derek Dietrich in the seventh. After the inning, first baseman Joey Votto walked toward the Pirates dugout and exchanged words with Kela, but plate umpire Larry Vanover got in front of Votto. In April, Dietrich admired one of his homers at PNC Park, leading to a benches-clearing clash.

The ejections started in the eighth, when Bell was tossed for arguing a strike call with Puig at bat. Reds reliever Jared Hughes was ejected in the ninth for hitting Starling Marte with his first pitch.

Reds' Amir Garrett was ready to take on the entire Pirates dugout.

(📷 via @SGdoesit) pic.twitter.com/7TABBdmJNl

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 31, 2019

Yasiel Puig has been ejected three times this season, the most of any player in MLB. Two of the three ejections have come against the Pirates (also April 7th).

Puig was ejected four times in six seasons with the Dodgers (never more than once in a season). pic.twitter.com/pvCaDDGhpg

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 31, 2019

This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Pittsburgh vs Cincinnati quickly turned ugly in the ninth inning