Flores sore, but OK after home-plate collision

ATLANTA — In retrospect, Terry Collins said, Wilmer Flores should not have been on the basepaths in the first place. But as Collins distracted himself readying the Mets’ pitching for the eighth inning of their 4-3, 10-inning, walk-off loss to the Braves, Flores wandered off second as the potential go-ahead run.

Moments later, T.J. Rivera ripped a single to right field, where Nick Markakis fielded it and rifled home. His throw arrived a split-second before Flores, who attempted to score by tumbling into Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski. It didn’t work. Pierzynski held onto the ball while Flores collapsed to the dirt, suffering a bruised neck but no further injuries.

“I certainly should have had somebody ready to pinch-run,” Collins said. “We certainly have enough guys. We could have run for him, which we should have. I was trying to get the pitching set up and get a pinch-hitter in, and got distracted. It’s my fault.”

The immediate impact of Collins’ decision was the loss of Flores, who could miss several days with a contusion. Though …

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