Phillips played the break just right

If there were an award for the grittiest performance of the week, it might go to the Cincinnati Reds’ Brandon Phillips.

With the score tied against Milwaukee on Tuesday night, Phillips came to bat in the 11th inning and, on the first pitch, had his right index finger broken as he fouled off a bunt attempt.

Phillips’ reaction? He stayed in the box and promptly singled to right, driving in the go-ahead run that gave the Reds a 5-4 victory.

Only after the game did the second baseman learn the finger was broken and his season was over, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

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Trivia time

What Hall of Fame pitcher had his career shortened after his toe was broken by a line drive?

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Promise kept

Tony Daly, longtime Clippers team doctor and medical consultant to the Olympics, who died last Friday at 74 and was buried Wednesday, had a wry sense of humor.

When he married his wife of 22 years, Carla, he promised she would get the big church wedding she wanted.

The gathering consisted of Daly and Carla; the church pastor, Don Moomaw; the witnessing couple, Peter and Ginny Ueberroth; and an organist. Six people.

But the ceremony took place in Moomaw’s Bel Air Presbyterian Church -- a very big church, Daly pointed out.

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Reality bites

Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway has a new role as a blogger and prognosticator for a website catering to fantasy football fans -- and the early results are mixed.

The former Denver Broncos star is part of Open- Sports.com, and he was 8-8 in his projections for the NFL’s first week, the Rocky Mountain News reported. That included picking the Oakland Raiders to beat Denver, except Denver won, 41-14.

“People want answers,” Elway told the newspaper. “But it’s hard. There are so many things going on, and there is not a lot of difference between each team.”

Elway also acknowledged that, initially, “I had to ask what blogging was.”

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Trivia answer

Dizzy Dean. In the 1937 All-Star game, Earl Averill hit a line drive that broke a toe on Dean’s right foot. Dean returned to the mound before the toe healed, changed his delivery and hurt his arm, and it curbed his career.

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And finally

After Colorado Rockies reliever Taylor Buchholz inexplicably froze in mid-windup and balked to let Atlanta score the winning run in the 10th inning Tuesday, Buchholz told the Denver Post:

“It’s pretty much the stupidest thing I have ever done.”

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james.peltz@latimes.com