Cincinnati, OH (My Sportsbook) - Chicago Cubs reliever Kyle Farnsworth and Cincinnati Reds hurler Paul Wilson were ejected from Thursday afternoon's game at Great American Ball Park after being involved in a bench-clearing brawl.

The scrum happened in the bottom of the seventh inning. With Wilson at the plate and squaring to bunt, Farnsworth threw an inside pitch that was chest high. Wilson stepped away from the offering, which got behind catcher Damian Miller for a wild pitch.

Wilson then shouted at Farnsworth and stepped toward the Cubs' pitcher. The two met near the plate, barely up the third base line. Farnsworth, who stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 235 pounds, body-slammed Wilson. Farnsworth threw a right hand that may have connected with Wilson's nose and the two were piled on top of by teammates.

Wilson left the field with his uniform bloodied.

"I was surprised he came at me," said Farnsworth. "Look at the tape. He dropped his bat. I wasn't trying to hit the pitcher in a tight game. It was 2-1, a runner on first and he's making an out (sacrificing). I have no idea where the ball is going half the time."

Wilson was trying to bunt to advance Ray Olmedo, who led off the seventh with a single.

Reds manager Bob Boone thought Farnsworth's intent was to hit Wilson. "There is no question, (Kyle) Farnsworth threw at Wilson, right in the face," said Boone. "He should have been ejected right there. I don't know why he wasn't. We have rules but they aren't always enforced."

Cubs starting pitcher Mark Prior threw behind Cincinnati catcher Jason LaRue in the sixth inning and Wilson hit Cubs leftfielder Moises Alou with the first pitch of the seventh, as the game intensified leading to the brawl.

"I've been hit a ton of times," said LaRue, who has already been hit by a pitch nine times this season. "I always stand close to the plate. But that was behind me. It was way off the plate."

Prior responded that he wasn't trying to hit LaRue. "I didn't understand what happened," noted Prior. "My take; they probably thought I was throwing at LaRue. It just got away."

It marked the second bench-clearing brawl in the last week for the Reds. Last Friday, during a 15-1 win over the Phillies at Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati's Adam Dunn charged the mound after having a pitch thrown behind him. Dunn was tackled by Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal, but pitcher Carlos Silva ended up taking a punch with his right hand at Dunn, who was on the ground. Dunn and Sean Casey were the two Reds ejected in that fight and are still awaiting word on a possible suspension.

"Didn't they have a fight a few days ago? It appears they have bad blood with a lot of people," said Cubs manager Dusty Baker. "We're not a team to have bad blood with. We have guys that can hurt you with the ball."

Thursday's game marked the finale of a four-game series between the heated NL Central rivals. The Reds won the game 3-1 to pull within three games of the first-place Cubs in the division.

Casey was surprised at the brawl on Thursday in the middle of a tight division race. "It's like the WWF in baseball. It popped up out of nowhere," said Casey. "We had to win today. Anytime you play inside the division, it's a big game."