VIDEO: Votto, 4 others ejected as benches clear in Cincinnati

Benches cleared in the bottom of the eighth inning between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds on Sunday after Pirates left-hander Tony Watson hit Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips with a pitch.

The scuffle led to the ejections of Reds outfielder Marlon Byrd and first baseman Joey Votto, as well as Pirates utility man Sean Rodriguez. They all had to be restrained several times, although no punches were thrown.

Pirates closer Mark Melancon and manager Clint Hurdle were then ejected in the ninth inning after Melancon plunked Tucker Barnhart.

Pirates superstar Andrew McCutchen was hit earlier in the contest by a pitch from Reds reliever Pedro Villarreal. McCutchen said it surprised him.

"If you want to retaliate, answer back, do it pretty early, join the game," he said, according to Tom Singer of MLB.com. "Get it over with. Don't wait till the eighth inning and - I'm not being cocky - get the best player on the team. Unless Marlon Byrd is the best player for them … I don't know.

"Good thing is, they're in our division, so I get to face that guy (Villarreal) again. I'm looking forward to it."

Plunking McCutchen could have been retaliation for hitting Byrd with a pitch the night prior.

"Last night they threw at my head - and they missed," Byrd said postgame. "The line is whenever you go above somebody's shoulder - that's where it is, that's the line. That's not what I went out there for, I went out there because they hit one of my teammates (Phillips)."

(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)