Sore foot limits Castro to DH duties

HOUSTON -- Jason Castro was limited to designated hitter duties Tuesday because of the soreness he was still feeling in his right foot. He was hit by a pitch on the toe Saturday in Arlington and didn't play Sunday. The team was off Monday, so Castro had two days to recover.

"It's feeling better, but it's not 100 percent," said Castro, who, in his first at-bat Tuesday, shot a single to right field. "I think it's good enough to at least hit. Squatting, I think, would be a little much. Hopefully I'll kind of ease into some stuff today and then possibly by [Wednesday] I should be back there. We'll see how it responds. If everything goes well today, hopefully I can get back there [Wednesday]."

Castro missed two games after suffering a contusion to his right foot when he was hit by a pitch in the third game of the season. He was hit by two pitches in that game, becoming the first Astros player since Brad Ausmus in 2007 to be hit by two pitches in the same game.

Castro missed the final three weeks of the 2013 season after having a cyst removed from his right knee, the same knee in which he tore the anterior cruciate ligament and medial meniscus in spring 2011, injuries that caused him to miss the entire season. In December 2011 he underwent surgery to remove the sesamoid bone in his left foot.