Phillips, Hughes clear the air

Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips and Pirates reliever Jared Hughes made peace with one another on Tuesday, the day after the two had a verbal confrontation during Monday’s game.

Following the game, Phillips took to Twitter and posted the following: “#RealTalk… Not really surprised by what I heard come outta another player’s mouth tonite but DAMN… Still PISSED bout that [expletive] #Racism”

Encouraged by Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen, Phillips and Hughes spoke on the phone before arriving at the ballpark.

“Last night, it was a heated moment for me, especially being from Stone Mountain, Ga., a lot of crazy things go down and a lot of racist stuff happened from the south,” Phillips said on Tuesday. “I was real pissed off about the situation. Me and Mr. Hughes, we had a great conversation before I came to the stadium today. It was the best thing that ever happened, talking to him in general about what happened and talking to him about things that I heard and stuff. It was great just to hear what he had to say and for him to hear what I had to say. It made us feel better about the situation.

“I respect him as a player and also as a man from the conversation me and him had. It was just a big misunderstanding. When you say certain things in the heat of the moment, you don’t really mean it. I understand that and you forgive people. He forgave me and I forgive him.”

Here is the full story on MLB.com, including quotes from Hughes and McCutchen.