Joey Votto didn’t even play in the Reds’ four-game sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis over the weekend, but he was as ecstatic as anyone about it.
Particularly because, according to Votto, Cardinals fans were all over the Reds when St. Louis swept Cincinnati in April.
“We had some s–t-talking motherf–kers in St. Louis after the first series sweep,” Votto said in the clip shared by WLWT-TV. “It’s kind of nice to go at their road ballpark and let them have it. We had some people sweeping brooms and s–t like that while we were leaving. So, how’d you like that? How’d you like that?”
The Reds earned their first four-game sweep of the Cardinals since 1990. It was a massive series for Cincinnati, which got back to 28-29 with the sweep before falling to NL Central-leading Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Votto’s comments add even more heat to the Reds-Cardinals rivalry that got explosive in early April when a bench-clearing scuffle broke out after Nick Castellanos celebrated scoring a run by screaming into Cardinals pitcher Jake Woodford’s face. Castellanos, who was suspended two games after the incident, was hit in the ribs with a Woodford fastball before scoring.
Votto, 37, missed a month with a fractured thumb, and the former MVP was activated from the injured list for Tuesday’s loss to the Brewers.