Giants pitcher Erik Miller made a mistake going at Sal Stewart (and Reds fans won't forget)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Erik Miller picked the wrong guy to insult, and the Cincinnati faithful won't let him forget it. The Giants defeated the Reds 3-0 during Thursday's getaway game, and some heated words were exchanged between Miller and and Reds rookie Sal Stewart after the final out of the game.

Miller entered the ninth inning with a chance to lock down his first career save. After striking out Dane Myers and Elly De La Cruz — with a walk to Matt McLain sandwiched in between — Stewart stepped into the batter's box.

The Giants closer struck out Stewart on four pitches and screamed in celebration as he walked off the mound. The hulking left-hander, however, also had some choice words for Stewart that appeared to be rather unkind. Stewart took exception to what was said and Giants catcher Patrick Bailey had to get between the two.

Benches clear after heated exchange between Reds and Giants

The benches (and the bullpens) then emptied as both Stewart and Miller were yelling at one another. Eugenio Suárez, Tyler Stephenson, and Reds hitting coach Chris Valaika quickly helped to deescalate the situation and escorted Stewart back to the Cincinnati dugout.

After the game, Stewart was asked about the exchange and he dismissed it with a Bill Belichick-like response. The Reds rookie acknowledged that words were traded back and forth, and then said his thoughts were onto the team's next game in Minnesota.

This was of course on the heels of a back-and-forth between Reds outfielder Spencer Steer and GIants pitcher JT Brubaker. Those two had a contentious disagreement on Tuesday night, and Steer was plunked for his troubles during Thursday's game. Cincinnati retaliated during the top of the eighth inning with Connor Phillips drilling San Francisco's All-Star shortstop, Willy Adames. Phillips was ejected from the game.

The question now becomes whether or not this spills over into the series between these two teams when they meet in San Francisco later in the year. The Reds travel to Oracle Park August 24-26, and you can bet that Stewart (nor Miller) will forget what happened.

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