Manny Machado and Yordano Ventura were both ejected Tuesday night following a bench-clearing melee between the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals that began when Ventura threw at Machado.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Orioles leading 5-1, Ventura hit Machado in the back with a 99 mph fastball on his first offering.

Machado charged the mound as Ventura prepared for the confrontation by taking off his hat and glove. Machado threw a punch at the Kansas City starter and slammed him to the ground.

Ventura insisted the errant throw was unintentional and implied that Machado has a reputation as a hot head.

"Everybody knows what kind of player he is," Ventura said through an interpreter. "One just got away and he came at me, and I have to defend myself at that point."

Buck Showalter said he thought Ventura's actions were deliberate.

"I thought he was trying to hit him the at-bat before," Showalter said. "That's why I talked to him before he took his last at-bat. I wanted him to be aware of it."

Even though he had been prepped by his manager, Machado said he didn't think when he was hit by the pitch, that he just reacted.

"I don't regret anything," he said. "It's part of the game. Reactions fly. When somebody's throwing 99 at you, it's going to hurt. You can ruin someone's career. You don't think in that situation. You just react to it."