Castro returns to lineup, homers in first at-bat

HOUSTON -- All-Star catcher Jason Castro returned to the lineup Sunday after missing the previous two games with a bruised right foot in the ankle area. His ankle was still wrapped with tape, but he was happy the injury wasn't more serious.

"I could have been worse possibly, but I'm just thankful it wasn't and it's just a pretty bad bruise and some soreness," Castro said. "There's nothing wrong with it. You just have to get over that hump, and I think we're pretty much there."

In his first at-bat back in the lineup on Sunday, Castro knocked a two-run homer to left-center field off Angels starter Jered Weaver.

Castro was hit by two pitches in his first two plate appearances Thursday. The first one was a glancing blow, but the second one caught him flush on the foot/ankle area.

He said he doesn't plan to wear extra padding to protect the right foot.

"I don't really plan on getting hit on the front of the foot again," he said. "I don't think what I have would have really done much anyway, so I'll just wear the normal shin guards I wear for the inside of my ankle and try to get out of the way."

Castro missed the final three weeks of last season after having a cyst removed from his right knee, the same knee that forced him to miss the entire 2011 season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament and medial meniscus that spring. In December 2011, he underwent surgery to remove the sesamoid bone in his left foot.