A Cubs-Marlins brawl was quickly defused with ... tickling?

The Cubs and Marlins almost got into it during their Tuesday night game, key word “almost.” What was shaping up to be a bench-clearing brawl quickly turned into meeting at home plate where they ... tickled each other?

Here’s the reason for the benches clearing in the first place: Miami second baseman Derek Dietrich plowed through Chicago catcher Victor Caratini in the 4th inning. Dietrich was out, words were exchanged and the benches emptied.

But things never really got out of hand, as a few players from each side kind of just met at the plate. Then some tickling happened.

Don’t take my word for it, here’s a gif of Kris Bryant ruthlessly tickling Starlin Castro. This really happened.

Castro is, of course, and old friend of the Cubs as he played for Chicago before being traded to the Yankees in 2015, and eventually traded to the Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton trade this past offseason.

More brawls could use tickling, to be honest. Fighting can be entertaining but opponents trying to figure out each other’s most vulnerable tickling spots would provide endless fun.