Bryant prepared for boos in 1st visit since calling St. Louis 'boring'

Kris Bryant is fully expecting a rude reception when his Chicago Cubs open a three-game series in St. Louis against the Cardinals on Friday.

"Of course, it's going to be not great," Bryant said Wednesday, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. "I was watching (Manny) Machado get booed by the Yankees (fans). I don't know. I hope they boo all of us. We want the games to be a nice rivalry, intense. It's always nice to play there, because there's a ton of people there, a lot of our fans show up. It makes it fun. No hard feelings."

Bryant was already viewed in St. Louis as a division rival, but he expanded the target on his back over the winter when he took several shots at the city; something he later said was done in jest.

"Who would want to play in St. Louis?" Bryant said to Ryan Dempster during a fan event in January.

"I always get asked, like, 'Where do you like to play? Where do you not like to play? And, oh, St. Louis is on the places I don't like to play."

Bryant's comments drew the ire of many in St. Louis, including longtime Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. After hearing Bryant's comments, Molina went on Instagram to call out the Cubs third baseman.

"Only stupid players and losers make comments like the ones made by Bryant," Molina wrote.

Molina later said he believed the bad blood caused would carry into the season.

"St. Louis is home," Molina said. "If anybody says anything bad about my home, I'm going to be there for us. I said to the guys, 'We are like a family. We have to stick together. We have to defend ourselves, and we have to defend our ground.' Whoever says something about us, we are going to be there to defend us."