CINCINNATI • Rather than flee a flash fire, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips on Tuesday refused to budge on harsh comments he made about the visiting Cardinals prior to the teams' three-game series at Great American Ball Park.

The Cardinals, termed "little bitches, all of them" by the All-Star infielder Monday, suggested they consider the source.

"The comments I made yesterday, those are my comments," Phillips said. "I said those things and I really mean what I said. The Cardinals, they're a great team. They're the team to beat, like I've said a million times. But we have to beat them."

Phillips made his comments several hours before a fracas erupted at home plate as Phillips led off the bottom of the first inning. Phillips tapped catcher Yadier Molina's shin guards, Molina offered a verbal retort and matters quickly escalated. Both benches emptied and a scrum moved to the backstop, where at one point ex-teammates Scott Rolen and Chris Carpenter paired off during a 7-minute delay.

Phillips set the tone Monday by publicly challenging the defending NL Central champions.

"I'd play against these guys on one leg," Phillips told a Dayton Daily News columnist "We have to beat these guys. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them. They're little bitches, 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."

Prior to the game the Cardinals made clear their disapproval without escalating the drama.

"It doesn't matter," Carpenter said. "Like I said, I don't think anyone in here cares about what Brandon Phillips says about us."

"If Scott Rolen said something about me, I'd take it a little bit harder," said center fielder Skip Schumaker, one of Rolen's former Cardinals teammates.

First baseman Albert Pujols adopted a hands-off approach before the game, insisting, "It's a free country. You're allowed to say whatever you want."

Carpenter noted Phillips' use of the term 'hate' after he beat the Reds for the ninth time in his last nine starts against them. "If he wants to hate us, he can hate us. I really don't care," Carpenter said before Tuesday's game. "It's not going to hurt me either way. We compete the way we compete. We play the way we play."

Manager Tony La Russa made clear his displeasure with Phillips' remarks after Monday's 7-3 Cardinals win and reiterated his feelings Tuesday afternoon before speaking with close friend and Reds general manager Walt Jocketty.

"The coincidence is (Phillips') got Cardinal teammates. The guys running that organization have a lot to do with what we represent here on and off the field. Walt was very outspoken about it," said La Russa, citing Rolen, Miguel Cairo, Jim Edmonds and Russ Springer as ex-Cardinals now vital to the Reds' push. "My first response was I know how we compete. The more I thought about it, they were real good teammates. They were part of this. They were critical guys. All four of those guys were huge. And the boss is huger ... hugest."

La Russa and Baker challenged each other during the set-to, much as they did during the 2002 NLCS when Baker managed the San Francisco Giants and again in September 2003 when Baker led the Chicago Cubs to the NL Central title.

Phillips extended his comments Tuesday, claiming that the Reds are the superior team and insisting his sentiments are shared throughout the league.

"I know we can beat these guys. I know we're a better team than them all-around, and we've just got to go out there and show them, and show this city and show everybody all over baseball that we are better than them."

Phillips added regarding to the Cardinals as "whiny bitches": "Those are my comments and a lot of people feel that way. All throughout the league, many people feel that way. We've just got to go out there and take care of business. That's what it was really about."

The Reds, strangers to the postseason since 1995, entered Tuesday night clinging to a one-game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central.

Schumaker couldn't suggest the motivation for Phillips' comments, saying, "They're in first place, I'm not sure. We're not in first place. That would be the last thing I would do, first or last (place)."