OUT OF PRAISE

PORT ST. LUCIE — And on the second day … of spring training games for Tim Tebow, he struck out with two runners on base in the eighth inning of the Mets’ 7-6 loss to the Astros on Friday at First Data Field.

Tebow went 0-for-4. After two games, he has a batting average of .000.

“You want to push the envelope and fall down as many times as you can,’’ Tebow said of this two-game learning experience. “When you start to catch your feet, you’ll get there a lot faster.’’

He also got a lesson in warming up from Yoenis Cespedes, who has a most unique routine that caught Tebow by surprise as the former quarterback made two overthrows with a softball, nearly hitting a reporter on the first with Cespedes yelling, “Danger!’’ as the softball sailed over his head.

“First, he throws a two-pound ball,’’ Tebow said with a smile. “Then, he goes to a softball and then it was to a baseball. I just thought we were going to be warming up with a baseball and there was all these different drills. I liked it, it was fun. It was definitely different.’’

Tebow grounded to first his first at-bat, hit a line drive to third his second at bat — the ball was knocked down and Tebow was thrown out at first — and grounded to short his third atbat. And then came the K, against left-handler Brian Holmes — his third strikeout in seven at-bats in his two games as a Met in spring training.

Both times Tebow played, the Mets had split-squad games, but now Tebow will head back to the minor league side for most likely the rest of spring training.

He was 0-for-7 in his two games as a Met. There was so much to learn, and in typical upbeat Tebow fashion, his exuberance may have gotten the best of him in that final at-bat.

“Gosh, try to hit a dinger and win it,’’ Tebow said. “That’s what I wanted to do.’’

Like the mighty Casey, Tebow struck out.

So it goes for Tebow, who has a mountainous learning curve and knows how far he must go just to have success at Single-A.

In his spring training debut Wednesday, Tebow struck out twice, hit into a double play and got doubled off first with the bases loaded on a line drive to second. That was as a DH. On Friday, he was in right field and shifted to left after Cespedes came out of the game. He finished without any errors.

“It’s never as good as it seems, it’s never as bad as it seems,’’ Tebow said.

Someday on the baseball field, there may be good for Tebow. kkernan@nypost.com

USA TODAY Sports has hit well since returning from back spasms and that continued on Friday, when he smacked his first homer of the spring. Duda missed seven games this spring after being forced to sit out much of last year with a stress fracture in his back. endured...