Gerrit Cole, Carlos Gomez in middle of Pirates-Brewers brawl

Former UCLA All-American pitcher Gerrit Cole, in his second season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, took exception to Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez flipping his bat after connecting for what turned out to be a triple on Sunday, igniting a benches-clearing brawl that led to three ejections.

Gomez and Pirates outfielder Travis Snider were ejected as was Pirates bench coach Jerry Narron.

Gomez’s shot to deep center field came with two outs in the third inning. As Cole headed back to the mound after collecting the ball from third baseman Josh Harrison, he appeared to have a few words for Gomez about the posturing at home plate as the ball headed toward the wall.

Gomez was restrained by umpire Fieldin Culbreth as players from both benches and bullpens emptied onto the field.

Snider and Pirates catcher Russell Martin both went after Gomez before players could be separated.

For Gomez, showing up a pitcher is nothing new. He triggered a benches-clearing incident last season when he homered off Braves pitcher Paul Maholm.