For the banged-up Mets, just reaching playoffs is triumph

N E W YO R K — T h e M e t s basked in defeat.

Sure, they were di sap - pointed. But there were no tears, not a shred of frustration. Instead, there was — to a man — a sense of accomplishment.

T h e i r s t a r t i n g l i n e u p included just three batters who were on the field for the season opener in Kansas City.

Their third baseman and c apt ai n di dn’t pl ay af t er May 27.

Their starting first baseman had 2 3 at-bats after May 20.

Their second baseman was done for the year on Aug. 27.

Their shortstop was playing on a bum knee.

T h e i r r e g u l a r c a t c h e r was benched after driving in one run in the season’s final month.

Their star slugger, struggling with a strained quadriceps, hit one home run after Sept. 11.

A n d f o u r o f t h e i r f i v e h i g h l y t o u t e d p r o j e c t e d starting pitchers were on the sidelines after seasons more notable for surgeries than strikeouts.

In a season when MRIs were discussed more often than ERAs, not even seven shutout innings from Noah Syndergaard was enough, given the decimated offense for the defending NL champions.

“I’m really proud of these guys, to handle all that adversity,” Syndergaard said after Wednesday night’s seasonending 3-0 loss in the NL wild-card game to Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants.

Last year, they won their first NL pennant since 2000, reviving the franchise. And this year they filled the seats regularly at Citi Field, which rocked with energy as they overtook the Yankees in local television ratings. Just 60-62 in mid-August, they managed to finish 87-75 and clinch a playoff berth with a game to spare.

“I don’t think you can say enough for what these guys did,” said Jacob deGrom, one of the injured star pitchers.

Syndergaard pitched up to his Thor nickname , striking out 10 and walking three, throwing 42 thunderbolts to 98 mph or higher — more than Philadelphia or Cleveland’s pitchers all season, according to Inside Edge. Curtis Granderson made a run-saving catch in a Willie Mays impersonation.

But Jeurys Familia gave up a three-run homer to Conor Gillaspie in the ninth inning, a drive into the right-field bullpens that stunned the Citi Field crowd. No more comebacks. No more hope.

“T h e y ’ r e hu r t i n g , b u t there’s no reason to be,” Met manager Terry Collins said. “They were written off so many times this summer and yet they kept fighting back.”

Last year, Familia allowed a t ying home run to Alex Gordon in the ninth of the World Series opener, and he was charged with three blown saves — partly because of his defense. He knew the 96 mph offering to Gillaspie would be a home run as soon as the bat made contact.

“I missed the location,” he said.

This year’s group was the Replace-Mets. Captain David Wright and second baseman Neil Walker watched the end of the season injured. Lucas Duda played sparingly after returning from a back injury. Asdrubal Cabrera powered through pain at short. Travis d’Arnaud watched Wednesday from the bench, and Yoenis Cespedes failed to replicate his power surge that helped lift New York to the World Series last season.

There are fewer than 4½ months until pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie with soothed muscles, mended tendons, resuscitated ligaments and rejuvenated spirits.

“We’re disappointed,” Collins said, “but we’ll be able to get healthy, and we’ll be back.”