In disbelief, Mets can only tip cap to Inciarte

NEW YORK — Even afterward, having seen the replay and the crowd reaction and the Braves piling out of their dugout to embrace Ender Inciarte, the whole lot of them hugging on the field, Brandon Nimmo called it a home run.

“It was a home run,” Nimmo said of Yoenis Cespedes’ near-walk-off in a 4-3 Mets loss to the Braves on Wednesday. Nimmo shook his head. “He crushed that ball, and it was a home run. Then he brought it back.”

In the National League’s overall postseason picture, Inciarte’s ability to do so — to make, perhaps, the most impactful catch of the 2016 season — did not do much to disrupt the Mets. Because the Cardinals and Giants also lost, the Mets dropped no ground in the NL Wild Card race. They remained stuck in a three-way tie with 10 games to play.

• WC standings | 2016 tiebreaker scenarios | How to determine postseason tiebreakers

But the catch did siphon some life out of the Mets. How could it not? Skying over the right-center-field wall, Inciarte turned a win — Cespedes’ drive was clearly headed over the wall for a three-run homer — into a loss and a three-game series sweep. As confident as they are that they can recover from such drama, the Mets could not help but feel dejected in the aftermath of Wednesday’s defeat.

“I knew I hit the ball well,” Cespedes said through an interpreter, answering only one question before leaving the clubhouse. “I knew there was a good chance it was going to make it out. But he made a better …

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