Banged-up Flowers back in starting lineup

CHICAGO -- Tyler Flowers' sore left foot, which he tweaked while running the bases during Tuesday's 8-2 victory over the Giants, did not keep the White Sox starting catcher out of Wednesday afternoon's lineup.

If Flowers' slump continues, though, backup catcher Adrian Nieto could see more playing time. Flowers had 19 strikeouts in 22 hitless at-bats before drawing a key bases-loaded walk during a three-run fourth on Tuesday.

"Well, I think part of it is because he plays a very demanding position," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. "He's beat up. He's had foul tips and all kinds of things that go with that [that] people don't necessarily get to see.

"But it's not always easy to go back there and catch and do what he does and keep your perfect rhythm and have everything go perfect for you at the plate. He'll weather this and will figure something out mechanically that can get him back to where he needs to be."

Nieto has made the jump from the Carolina League to the Majors as a Rule 5 Draft selection, but with Nieto improving as the season progresses, Ventura won't shy away from starting him.

"He's our backup catcher, so you've got to be able to use him," Ventura said. "You continue to see where Tyler's at physically. We'll play it by ear as we keep going."