Pirates-Reds rivalry reaches new level with epic bench-clear

CINCINNATI – So many so-called rivalries in professional sports exist more in the minds of the fans and media than those participating in the games. At the end of the day, everyone from both sides are friends again and part of the same brotherhood of pro athletes.

However, the rivalry between the Pirates and Reds is not contrived and hasn’t been since it first started to heat up in the early part of the decade. The players, managers and coaches truly don’t like each other. In fact, there is a good bit of hatred mixed in.

That was never more evident than Tuesday night in the ninth inning of the Pirates’ 11-4 rout of the Reds at Great American Ball Park that ended their season-worst nine-game…