Benches cleared between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon after Bryce Harper left the game with a sprained thumb.

Harper suffered the injury during a slide into third base. Jung Ho Kang tried to deke Harper, pretending he had the ball and leading to an awkward slide by Harper.

In the bottom of that inning, benches cleared when A.J. Cole threw a wild pitch behind the back of Kang.

Cole was immediately tossed by the home plate umpire Jordan Baker. Both benches and bullpens emptied, and players were involved in an ensuing scuffle near the mound.

Sean Rodriguez was also tossed after engaging in a shouting match across the diamond with Jayson Werth.

"You don't want that to happen," Harper said. "I understand the deke at second base, I understand the double play kind of thing, but that kind of thing is not part of the game."