Juan Soto told reporters after the Mets Opening Day loss that he was just trying to get on base when he stepped to the plate in the ninth inning with a chance to make a major impact on the game with his new team down by two.

Soto struck out to end the game in his first big opportunity with the Mets and acknowledged that he did -- just like his teammates -- wanted to "do something in a big spot."

"We all trying to get the knock and try to bring the runs in and try to help the team either way," Soto said. "For me, I don't mind taking a walk right there. I have Pete behind me and he's a really good power hitter. So, I think we have a better chance right there. Lefty-righty matchup, he just got me in that situation."

The Mets' new slugger managed to reach base on three occasions on Thursday and hit a single for his first hit with the team in the top of the first inning.

He did praise Astros' closer Josh Hader, calling him "one of the best closers" in MLB and adding that his pitches are "nasty."

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza seemed to like what he saw from Juan Soto in his first official game with the ballclub.

While Soto struck out for the final at-bat of the game, the Mets skipper saw plenty to be happy with, even from that moment.

"As a competitor, he always wants to come through. I thought he had some good at-bats today," he said. "Even with that one, he got [the count] 3-0 and then 3-1, that pitch he got there just missed it and then pretty good pitch. But he'll come through."

The Mets haven't dropped season openers in back-to-back years since 1999 and 2000.

For anyone that's looking for omens, the Mets reached the NLCS in 1999 and the World Series in 2000.

The Mets dropped their Opening Day game against the Astros, marking the second consecutive season opener that they've dropped.

The final score -- a 3-1 loss to the Astros -- was the same score as last year's opening loss to the Brewers.

The Mets looked as if they might have some magic in them after their offense was stagnant for most of the game. But with the bases loaded, Josh Hader got Juan Soto to swing at a pitch out of the strike zone to end the game.

The Mets are now 41-23 on Opening Day.

The Mets looked like they had something brewing in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs, however, Brandon Nimmo lined out on the first pitch of the at bat to end the inning.

The Mets slugger reached base for the third time this afternoon when he walked during a four pitch at-bat in the eighth. The walk kept the inning alive for the Mets.

They still trail 3-0.

Clay Holmes' afternoon comes to an end after he walked Yainer Diaz in the bottom of the fifth.

Diaz would be the last batter that the Mets starter would see in the Opening Day showdown and right-hander Huascar Brazobán took over on the mound.

In his first start for his new club, Holmes struck out four batters while walking four and allowing five hits and two earned runs.

Luisangel Acuña made a pretty big throwing error in the third inning that allowed the Astros to score their third run of the game.

After the Mets got out of the third, SNY cameras caught Mets coach Mike Sarbaugh using the moment to help guide the young infielder.

Acuña only made one error while playing for the Mets in the majors last season and had a good showing in the spring. That led to the Mets keeping Acuña on the Opening Day roster and in the starting lineup.

“Acuna earned it, not only in spring training, but with the way he played for us last year. He is getting an opportunity,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said ahead of Opening Day.

Houston jumped to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third.

Clay Holmes allowed two hits and two runs to score in the inning to extend the Astros' lead. Luisangel Acuña didn't help the cause when he botched what looked like a sure double-play by making a bad throw to first that Pete Alonso couldn't make a plan on.

Clay Holmes struck out the side to end the second, but the Astros struck first off a Jake Meyers ground out that allowed Jeremy Peña to score.

If you’re depending on MLB TV to get your Opening Day fix, you may need to explore a new option.

As first pitches were thrown on Thursday afternoon, users across the internet reported trouble accessing the league’s streaming service.

The Post’s attempts to watch games using MLB TV received an error that read, “We had some trouble loading the game, please try again later.”

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