Access the Mets beat like never before

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.

Juan Soto’s first home runs as a Met in Queens belong in the franchise history books but probably not on the reel of SNY classics.

His first huge day at Citi Field wearing orange and blue was a welcome sign that did not prove timely.

Held homer-less in his first 15 games at home, Soto went deep twice Thursday — which might have been the only memorable moments from a 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks in front of 36,239 who witnessed the Mets dropping their third series of the year.

Carlos Mendoza’s group (21-11) lost on consecutive days at Citi Field for the first time since July and wasted an afternoon that had the potential to be special.

“You hate to lose a series here at home, but I also understand that’s going to happen,” Mendoza said after the Mets failed in the clutch Wednesday and failed to generate many chances Thursday. “We’ve been playing pretty well.”

Soto — who has faced an increasing spotlight because of at-bats that have not produced elite results and fielding that looked particularly spotty Thursday — appeared to realize that he does not have to worry about finding holes in the defense if he simply hits the ball over the defense.

After knocking three homers in his first 31 games this year, he came through with his first multihomer game as a Met. With the Mets down 2-0 in the sixth inning, he injected life into Queens with an opposite-field shot that ended with Starling Marte raining sunflowers over his head in the dugout.

Soto’s OPS is up to .822, which is excellent for just about any player but 167 points away from his 2024 season in The Bronx.

“What pressure? I don’t have any pressure,” Soto said when asked if the homers removed any weight from his shoulders. “Mendoza has been really clear with me to make me feel comfortable and go on out there and play.

“I don’t have any pressure at all. It’s just two homers that weren’t enough to get the win.”

His first blast became one of the two hits the Mets collected off Zac Gallen, who dominated for six innings.

In the eighth, Soto once again brought the Mets within one run by launching his second dinger of the day, a no-doubter to left-center off Kevin Ginkel, but again the Mets would not get over the hump.

After Soto’s shot, Pete Alonso (walk) and Jesse Winker (double) reached scoring position with one out. But Mark Vientos could not lay off a Ginkel slider that slid outside the strike zone — “Missed a couple pitches there that were in the strike zone, and then they made him chase,” Mendoza said — and Brandon Nimmo struck out looking, apparently not expecting a breaking ball that got plenty of the plate.

On a day Mendoza only received four innings from Kodai Senga and pressed Max Kranick for eight outs, he opted for a second up from Reed Garrett in the ninth inning rather than bringing in a rested Edwin Díaz in a game the Mets trailed by one.

The Mets then trailed by two after Tim Tawa stroked a homer off Garrett to add an insurance run.

The Mets’ bullpen, which has been excellent all season but has begun incurring injuries amid a mounting workload, buckled with Garrett and buckled earlier with newcomer Génesis Cabrera.

Called up in the morning, Cabrera was charged with a run in the fifth when he walked Pavin Smith and served up a strange double to Josh Naylor — a well-struck ball to right-center that everyone could see except Soto. The right fielder took several steps forward, then began retreating too late. Only center fielder Tyrone Taylor had a chance at a catch, and he smacked against the wall without securing the ball.

Kranick entered and allowed a sacrifice fly to put the Mets down, 2-0, a gap that Soto could not close single-handedly.

The Mets finished with just five hits, snapping a majors-best streak of 19 straight games in which they recorded at least six hits.

Two of those hits were encouraging if not game-changing.

“Just a couple of games that we didn’t get the job done,” Mendoza said after snapping a franchise-record streak of 10 straight series won at home. “But we’re a pretty dangerous team.”