Reed to play more at 1B than DH

A.J. Reed remains in search of his first major league hit.

The rookie Astros first baseman will enter his third game Monday night in Anaheim hitless in five at-bats with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI. He struck out in each of his three plate appearances in Sunday’s 6-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals, each on fastballs from righthander Ian Kennedy.

Reed, who debuted at the designated hitter spot in Saturday’s 13-5 win, played the field for the first time with the Astros on Sunday. Manager A.J. Hinch kept Marwin Gonzalez’s hot bat in the lineup by playing him at second base and giving Jose Altuve a “half day off ” at DH.

Although his lefthanded bat is undoubtedly his carrying tool, the 6-4, 275-pound Reed is regarded as at least adequate in the field. He is expected to garner most of his playing time at first base as opposed to the DH spot.

“In the spring, he was a little more agile than we gave him credit,” Hinch said. “I think when you look at the body and how big he is, you expect these lumbering actions around the base, and he actually likes to play off the base quite a bit in our shift.

“He handles himself well. He’s a huge target, so our infielders are going to love him.”

Even when Reed serves as the DH, the Astros will have the 23-year-old field ground balls pregame daily to keep his feet moving.

“He was fine in the spring,” Hinch said. “He

worked pretty hard to keep it an option. I told him in the spring I didn’t want him to default to the DH, which is always the easy thing to do. He needs to stay on the field to continue to play every day.”