The Cardinals endured a first-inning scrum on Tuesday night to defeat the Reds 8-4 at Great American Ball Park. St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina jawed with Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips in the first inning, sparking the incident. "I know our guys," manager Tony La Russa said. "This is not the first time that we've been challenged. You just go up and down our roster -- we've got a bunch of guys that are very tough characters. Like I say, there's times that you beat us, we're not good enough. but you're never going to scare us and we're never going to back down." The Cardinals and Reds are locked in a race for the National League Central title.