After Jeff McNeil’s HBP anger against Yankees, Mets pooh-pooh idea of retaliation 

For a moment Wednesday night, Jeff McNeil was — as he is periodically — outwardly furious.

Yankees lefthander Carlos Rodon drilled him with a 95-mph fastball, square in the back, in the top of the fourth inning of the Mets’ 3-1 loss. McNeil fell to the ground, threw his helmet and stayed on the ground for about a minute.

He got up and walked to first base, where Rodon apologized, which told McNeil what he already knew: It wasn’t on purpose. But it did hurt.

“I get a little frustrated sometimes, a little upset,” said McNeil, his chuckle the opposite of the furrowed brow he donned while seated in the dirt near home plate. “But I know it wasn’t on purpose. He’s had a little bit of a control issue the last few starts. He’s just trying to throw strikes there with a lead and one got away. It happens.”

Rodon said: “There was no animosity. I wasn’t trying to throw at him . . . I’d rather be in the zone there and not hit a guy in the back. We’re professionals. I know this is our livelihood and the last thing you want to do is hit someone like that.”

Flashes of anger after getting hit by a pitch has been a common occurrence for the Mets, who have complained for two seasons about how frequently they get hit.

Last year, they set a modern baseball record with 112 HBPs. This year, they lead the majors again with 69.

Those have yielded a few injuries, such as Pete Alonso’s bruised wrist last month, and plenty of scares, like when Francisco Alvarez left the game after absorbing a pitch with his right middle finger Tuesday night.

But the Mets pooh-poohed the idea of retaliating — plunking an opposing batter in return — for the sake of trying to send a message, as if the Nationals would pitch to them differently this weekend if they had hit a Yankee this time.

“I know it’s frustrating, and we have been hit a lot,” McNeil said. “But I don’t think we’re in a position right now to lose players, either. If we’re throwing…