NEW YORK — Mets had been 0-for-2, which extended his hitless streak to 12 at-bats before stepping to the plate in the fifth inning in Friday’s 4-3 win against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field.

Soto didn’t hear the restless crowd, he told The Post. He was focused on the Mets, on his at-bats, on the “couple rockets right in front of people” that turned into outs. Any frustration Soto — in the first season of a 15-year deal — has over his .221 average gets balanced by knowledge that struggles are just “part of the game.”