HOUSTON — It was the most anticipated season opener for the Mets in a decade, and the Amazin’s came out flat. The Mets’ 3-1 Opening Day loss to the Houston Astros at Daikin Park featured a baserunning blunder, a botched double play and a starting pitcher who was laboring by the fourth inning a nd was removed with two outs in the fifth. The Mets are back, baby. And because they’re the Mets, they made it interesting in the ninth inning, loading the bases on left-handed closer Josh Hader with no outs. Francisco Lindor hit a fly ball to center field deep enough to score Starling Marte and bring up Juan Soto, the Mets’ $765 million man. It almost felt scripted. Making his long-awaited Mets debut, Soto, the superstar slugger who chose the Mets over the Yankees as a free agent in December, was up to bat with a chance to be a hero. Soto was looking for a ball to put in play, but once Hader fell behind 3-0, he was looking for a walk to get a more favorable matchup with right-handed hitter Pete Alonso behind him. “We all want to do something in a big spot,” Soto said. “You know, we’re all trying to get the knock and trying to bring the runs in to try to help the team either way. But for me, I don’t mind taking a walk right there. It’s Pete behind me, and he’s a really good power hitter. So I think we have a better chance right there.” Hader worked the count full. Soto fouled back the fifth pitch of the at-bat to keep it alive. He was expecting Hader to throw a fastball next, but the closer threw a late-breaking slider that looked like it was heading right through the zone until it broke sharply to the right, down and away from the left-handed hitter. Soto swung late, missing for strike three. “He let the ball go on that last pitch,” Soto said. “He got me. It was a pretty good pitch.” In his Mets debut, Soto went 1-for-3 with a single, two walks and one big strikeout. “As a competitor, he always wants to come true,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “I thought he had some good at bats today. And even on that one, you know, he got it 3-0 and then 3-1, and that pitch that he got there, he just missed it. And then a pretty good pitch. But he’ll come through.” In his first start since 2018, Clay Holmes went only 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. The right-hander walked four and struck out four, needing 89 pitches to get through his outing. Holmes (0-1) had the wide-eyed excitement of a little kid on Christmas in the period leading up to Opening Day. But the day before he made his first start since 2018, the tone of the Mets’ right-hander seemed somewhat tempered, saying he was taking a short-term view of things, trying to get through five starts before reassessing. The candid comments were the first time anyone with the Mets acknowledged some doubt about converting Holmes from a reliever to a starter. This outing showed that the transition probably won’t be seamless. “It’s different than spring training,” Holmes said. “You’re facing a lineup 1-9, you know they have a game plan, there’s a lot more scouting. Definitely going to be a learning process of just how you navigate that. You know, what pitches I can go to? How I can use my full arsenal, all those types of things and kind of building trust with it.” Holmes trusts his sinker, but it wasn’t there for him Thursday. The Astros put some in play, but he missed with others, resulting in the walks. “The walks, they were not in good times,” Holmes said. “They were not good walks, [any] of them, really. And I think part of it was, there’s a lot of new there’s a lot. Probably — maybe — I’m thinking a little too much, versus let’s just get ahead, let’s attack with the sinker.” Left-hander Framber Valdez (1-0) blanked the Mets over seven innings, allowing four hits and walking two. The Mets put two on with one out in the first inning, but Valdez retired Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo to get out of the jam. The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second after Holmes plunked Jeremy Peña with one out. Holmes loaded the bases and got a ground-ball by Peña, but the Mets couldn’t turn a double play to get out of the inning. Related Articles Mets Notebook: Carlos Mendoza plans to platoon Luisangel Acuña, Brett Baty Mets’ Mark Vientos hungry for more after breakout 2024 season Luisangel Acuña makes Mets Opening Day roster Mets managing expectations ahead of anticipated season Mike Lupica: As we hit Opening Day, can Yankees and Mets give us a repeat performance? It was a tough play, but second baseman Luisangel Acuña had an easier one in the bottom of the third that he couldn’t make, resulting in another run. The 2024 team taught us that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and the Mets have plenty of time to live up to the hype. But after only one game, there is also plenty to clean up. “The last couple of innings, you could see we were one base hit away from probably tying the game or getting closer on the scoreboard,” Soto said. “So those are the things we’ve got to take and move forward.” ...read more read less