DENVER — Jose Reyes’ first shot at batting third will likely come this weekend in St. Louis.

Manager Jerry Manuel said today that he is ready to take the plunge, putting Angel Pagan in the leadoff role, moving Reyes to third with the idea of lengthening the Mets’ lineup.

Reyes batted leadoff last night against the Rockies with Pagan eighth in the order. Reyes said he’ll do whatever is needed to help the team.

“It’s going to be weird for me, because I’ve never [batted third] in the big leagues,” Reyes said. “I’ve been hitting leadoff all my life.”

Reyes entered last night’s play batting .308 after going 2-for-5 on Tuesday, but said he’s not where he needs to be at the plate. He cited his five strikeouts over his previous three games.

“That’s too much for me,” he said. “I don’t like to get strikeouts, even if I had two hits.”