HOUSTON – Brad Ausmus singled to right-center with one out in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Houston Astros a 3-2 victory over the Mets last night and – much to the delight of their fans – ruining Carlos Beltran’s return to Minute Maid Park.

Orlando Palmeiro began the winning rally with a single off Roberto Hernandez (5-4), then moved to second on a sacrifice by Adam Everett. Ausmus, who drove in the Astros’ previous run on a squeeze bunt, smacked the first pitch he saw high over the second baseman’s head, leaving Beltran to jog after it, knowing the game was lost.

Dan Wheeler (1-2) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win – Houston’s fifth straight and 11th in 12 games.The victory also moved the Astros into a tie with Washington (55-47) for the lead in the NL wild card race.

The Mets have started this road trip with three losses in four games after having won seven of their previous eight overall.

Beltran, the star of Houston’s postseason run last October, went 0-for-4, hitting three infield grounders and an easy fly to center. He also helped draw a crowd of 43,552, the second-biggest of the season and fourth-largest in the six-year history of the ballpark.

Most of them came to boo Beltran.The jeers began when the lineups were announced before the game.When he was introduced for his first at-bat, it could hardly be heard over the boos.

The Mets wasted another great outing by Pedro Martinez, who had won five of his last six starts. He allowed two runs and four hits. He added eight strikeouts to his NL-leading total and upped his career count to 2,808, passing Cy Young (2,803) for 16th all-time.

The Mets scored a run in the first off rookie starter Ezequiel Astacio, but that came after loading the bases with no outs. The rally ended with two fly outs, the first a sacrifice fly, and a strikeout by Mike Piazza.

The Mets didn’t get past second base again off Astacio, who allowed one run and four hits over six innings. He struck out five and walked three in his first start in the rotation spot that had belonged to Brandon Backe, who went on the disabled list before the game with a strained muscle on his left side.

Martinez allowed only a walk his first time through the lineup and had given up just one hit until Everett tied it with two outs in the fifth.

Miguel Cairo put New York back ahead in the seventh with a solo homer that ended a 14-inning scoreless streak by Houston’s bullpen. The Astros answered immediately, tying it on Ausmus’s RBI bunt.