The Mets lost a game — nearly in historic, embarrassing fashion — but they are hoping they did not lose something much more significant: their leadoff hitter and arguably best position player up to this point.

Brandon Nimmo was pulled Saturday after four innings with right intercostal irritation after successfully stopping a swing but feeling something in his side in the process.

Nimmo, during a third-inning at-bat that would end in a walk, began his swing but quickly decided against it, then grabbed at his right side.

“Little bit of something uncomfortable, something that’s not supposed to be there,” Nimmo said after the 4-1 loss to the Braves at Citi Field in which the Mets were no-hit until two outs in the ninth. “The closest resemblance I can give you is just a little bit of too much of a stretch.”

Nimmo finished the at-bat and played left field in the fourth, but on a chilly afternoon he said his side began to stiffen.

He talked with trainers and manager Carlos Mendoza, and Tyrone Taylor entered in his spot for the fifth.

Nimmo was not sent for testing and felt he caught the irritation before it became something worse.

Still, the Mets won’t know for sure until Nimmo wakes up and sees how his body responds. Oblique injuries are notoriously tricky.

“I’m not too concerned, but every time you talk about that rib area, obviously,” Mendoza said, trailing off. “I think we caught it early, hopefully.”

Nimmo’s .779 OPS is the best among Mets regulars, and after a slow start in which a lot of hard contact found gloves, the 31-year-old has been the club’s most reliable bat.

In the past week, Nimmo is 9-for-29 with five walks, three homers and two doubles.

Nimmo said there is a possibility that he recovers in time for Sunday’s series finale. Even if he’s not in the lineup immediately, he feels he averted what might have been a far worse fate.

“If I did more,” Nimmo said, “then we’re talking something like six to eight weeks rather than one or two days.”