"Second baseman Brandon Phillips then added an edge to the series by referring to the Cardinals as "little b—–s" before first pitch.

"I'd play against these guys on one leg," Phillips told Hal McCoy, a columnist for the Dayton Daily News. "We have to beat these guys. All they do is b—- and moan about everything, all of them. They're little b——s, all of them. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals."

Manager Tony La Russa had heard about the comment before addressing the media afterward. He tried to keep a lid on his emotion but later followed Post-Dispatch reporters into the clubhouse to remind them that several former Cardinals now share the Reds clubhouse with Phillips.

"We win the right way. We lose the right way. That's my comment," La Russa said."