…but not before Reds SS Brandon Phillips all but publicly fingered Pirates reliever Jared Hughes for aiming a racial slur at the former last night. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay spoke to Phillips (shown below, being hit by a pitch from Phillips during the 8th inning of last night’s marathon win over Pittsburgh), who claims to have resolved the matter with Hughes during a pregame phone call tonight.

“We reached out, and me and Mr. Hughes had a great conversation before I came to the stadium today,” Phillips said. “It was the best thing that ever happened, just talking to him about what happened, talking to him about things that I heard and stuff.

“It was great to hear what he had to say and him to hear what I had to say. It made us both feel better about the situation. I respect him as a player and a man from the conversation we had.

“It was just a big misunderstanding. When you say certain things in the heat of the moment, you really don’t mean it. You forgive people. He forgave me. I forgive him. It’s the baseball family. I love him as a brother.”

Hughes told Pittsburgh writers similar things:

“I’ve got a ton of respect for Brandon Phillips as a man and a ballplayer. We talked and told each other how much we respect each other as men. He’s a great guy. He’s super nice.”

It’s believed Hughes used the term “boy.”