Joey Votto says benches-clearing incident against Brewers was a 'misunderstanding'

After watching a called strike in his second at-bat of Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, Joey Votto turned toward home-plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.

Votto stepped out of the batter’s box and appeared to say a few words. Preparing to step back into the box, he again turned toward Ortiz. That was enough watching for Brewers catcher Erik Kratz, who stood out of his catcher’s stance and shook his head.

A few seconds later, Votto and Kratz were face-to-face while both benches cleared.

“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.

Votto was ejected from Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, admitting he deserved it for continuing to disagree about a called third strike.

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He called Thursday’s reaction at the plate a "common tug of war.”

“Everything, balls, strikes, are always at a premium,” Votto said. “I'm just up there trying my very best to make sure that I get a quality pitch to hit and if that doesn't come about, then I take first on a walk. Really, (Wednesday), I was pretty clear about going a bit too far, but at no point today was there anything along those lines.”

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Once the benches cleared, players from both teams had some lighthearted moments. Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar kept his arm around Reds backup infielder Alex Blandino. Others laughed as relievers walked back toward the bullpen.

Votto and Kratz chatted at first base when Kratz drew a walk in the seventh inning.

“Completely blown out of proportion, that’s all,” Kratz said. “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.”

Votto added: “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.”