Castro out with injury, Flowers in

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Updated: January 23, 2012 2:57AM

Catcher Tyler Flowers was hitting .355 in his last 17 games at Class AAA Charlotte and .261 overall, but defense will be his top priority as he fills in for injured backup catcher Ramon Castro.

“I’ll have the same approach with him as with Castro,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I won’t play A.J. more because of that. Tyler is here and will play the same way Castro was.”

Flowers was recalled after Castro suffered a broken right hand when he was struck by a Mark Buehrle pitch that Minnesota Twins batter Alexi Casilla backed away from in the eighth inning Saturday.

“I think if you’ve caught for more than one year, you’ve been in that situation,” Flowers said. “It was an unlucky situation for him. You don’t see it all the way, and it sounds like that’s what happened.”

Guillen said he expects Castro to be out for a while.

Six-pack coming back

The Sox will return to a six-man rotation after the All-Star break, going with Gavin Floyd, Edwin Jackson and Jake Peavy against the Detroit Tigers starting Friday, followed by Buehrle, Philip Humber and John Danks against the Kansas City Royals — provided Danks returns on schedule from the disabled list (oblique strain).

Danks pitched Sunday for Charlotte, working three innings and allowing two home runs among four hits. He will have at least one more rehab outing before the Sox decide whether he can return against the Royals.

Danks, who struck out two and walked one, said he had no problems physically.

“I let it loose a few times,” Danks said. “I feel I’m over that mental hurdle. I made my pitches, and I’m trying to get back as soon as possible. I’m trying to get back in the groove. I felt great about my command, other than the walk.”

Pitching coach Don Cooper said he thinks the six-man rotation has worked well so far.

“Somebody told me we’re 11 above (.500) with it,” Cooper said. “If it’s going good, we’re probably going to leave it. If it’s not, if somebody’s not taking care of business individually, then we’ll look into it. But until there’s a reason to look into it, I’m not.’”

Next commish?

Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit, which came as part of a 5-for-5 game Saturday, had Guillen repeating his longtime description of the New York Yankees star.

“Baseball god,” Guillen said. “Who is better than that guy? Five hits, game-winning RBI.

“But one thing that caught my attention — and I think that’s why this man is so classy and such a gentleman — is he had his best friend, Gerald Williams, watching the game. That’s special. When I saw Gerald watching with the Jeter family, that was awesome. (Jeter) didn’t forget who helped him or who came up with him or who is his friend.

“What can I say about that man? ... When he’s done and Mr. (Bud) Selig steps out, we have the next commissioner. That’s how much I love that guy. Everyone in baseball should respect him. He represents this game very well.”