Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips is in. Pitcher Johnny Cueto is out.

Phillips will return tonight from a week-long wrist injury, while Cueto has been excused from the team to attend to a “serious family issue,” according to the Reds.

So, two of the main participants from the Aug. 10 melee between the Reds and St. Louis Cardinals are headed in different directions as the teams get set to meet tonight for the first time since the free-for-all in Cincinnati.

Phillips, who spurred the bad blood that spilled over in the Aug. 9-11 series in Cincinnati by calling the Cardinals team some unsavory names, has missed the last seven games after being hit on the wrist vs. the San Francisco Giants.

Phillips' comments about the Cardinals became public after it was reported by a Dayton columnist on Monday, Aug. 9 that the loquacious Phillips had called the Cardinals “whiny” and used an expletive to further criticize the team. The next day as Phillips approached the plate in his first at-bat, he gave Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina a customary tap on the shin guards with his bat. Molina, by then fully aware of the comments made by Phillips the previous day, took exception.

The two shared words face-to-face at home plate, which then brought managers Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker onto the field before both benches cleared and a scrum ensued.

During the fracas, while pinned up against the screen behind home plate, Cueto began lashing out with kicks that connected repeatedly with Cardinals back-up catcher Jason LaRue. Cueto received a seven-game suspension (essentially one start) for his actions, while LaRue was forced to the DL with concussion syndromes that have ended his season.

Cueto was not scheduled to start during this weekend's three-game series and it had been speculated the club might limit his visibility this weekend. A club spokesman insisted the pitcher's absence is unrelated to the August incident but said it is up to manager Dusty Baker to offer details regarding Cueto's absence.

Both teams have said the Aug. 10 incident is behind them and that their should be no such shenanigans in St. Louis this weekend. However, Major League Baseball has ordered the same umpiring crew to the series that worked the showdown in Cincinnati. The Cardinals have tightened on-field access before the game. Crew chief Jeff Kellogg is also likely to issue a "heads up" to both sides before first pitch, meaning ejections are possible at the first incident.

This weekend's series offers a rare double edge. The Cardinals' faithful are aggravated by the team's 4-13 meltdown since sweeping the Reds while also lived at what many believed was lenient discipline assigned Cueto for his role in the Aug. 10 incident.