CINCINNATI -- Brandon Phillips may have a sore left hand but it's not going to stop him from playing. After he missed Sunday's game against the Nationals, Phillips was back in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Giants.

"It hurts," Phillips said. "But if I can play with a broken thumb, if I can play with an injured finger, I can play with an injured wrist."

Phillips hurt his hand in Saturday's game, when he was hit by a pitch by Nationals starter J.D. Martin in the sixth inning of a 10-6 loss. He had to leave the game because of the injury. Drew Sutton filled in for Phillips on Sunday.

"I love this game too much to sit out," Phillips said. "I feel like the game that we lost Sunday was my fault."

Phillips is referring to the play in eighth inning where Sutton lobbed a ball from shallow right field into the infield after a single by Ryan Zimmerman had tied the game. That lob allowed Josh Willingham to score from third and give the Nationals a 5-4 lead. Phillips wants to make sure something like that won't happen again with him patrolling the infield.

And he's is no stranger to hand injuries. Earlier this season, he broke his right thumb while fielding a ground ball. Yet he played through the pain and continued to be effective.

"I'm going to try to stay out there until the manager sits me down," Phillips said. "If he sees me in too much pain, he'll sit me down. You have to take this jersey off my back to sit down. I try to man up."

Phillips said he would rather have a hand injury than a hurt ankle or knee but realizes the importance of his hands in baseball.

"If I put weight on it -- that is the only time I feel it," Phillips said. "I should be all right fielding a ground ball."

Phillips went 1-for-4 on Tuesday in his first game back.

Pitching matchup
CIN: RHP Bronson Arroyo (11-11, 4.74 ERA)
Arroyo pitched a nearly flawless game against the Nationals on Aug. 10. He pitched his third complete game of the season and only gave up two hits in a 7-0 win. Arroyo has now pitched consecutive quality starts and has thrown six quality in his past seven outings. Arroyo will look to continue his success against the Giants, who beat him, 4-2, August 8 in San Francisco.

SF: LHP Barry Zito (8-11, 4.44 ERA)
Zito earned the distinction of winning the only game that the Giants captured during a three-game series against the Reds Aug. 7-9 in San Francisco -- even though co-aces Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain started the other two games. Zito lasted one batter into the seventh inning and yielded just three hits in a 4-2 victory. That extended Zito's winning streak to three decisions, but he's coming off a 3-0 loss on Friday in New York in which he lasted two batters into the sixth inning.

Tidbits
Willy Taveras left Tuesday's game with a strained right quadriceps muscle. ... The Reds are now 4-6 in extra-inning games. ... Homer Bailey hit a two-run single to collect his first RBI as a batter since 2007. ... Joey Votto is now tied with Jay Bruce for the team lead in home runs with 18.

Tickets
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On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• FS-O

On radio
• WLW 700

Up next
• Thursday: Reds (Aaron Harang, 6-14, 4.35) vs. Giants (Matt Cain, 12-4, 2.49), 12:35 p.m. ET
• Friday: Reds (Johnny Cueto, 8-10, 4.61) at Pirates (Charlie Morton, 2-6, 5.51), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Reds (Justin Lehr, 2-0, 2.42) at Pirates (Zach Duke, 9-11, 3.42), 7:05 p.m. ET