Johan Santana wanted to get back on the mound immediately after his fiasco in Atlanta last week. Thanks to the weather, he'll have to be extra patient.
The game between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets was postponed because of rain Sunday and rescheduled as part of a single-admission doubleheader Monday beginning at 4:10 p.m. Rather than have Santana start one of those games, the Mets pushed him back a day to Tuesday against Jose Reyes and the Miami Marlins.
"It's about the whole staff, not just Johan," manager Terry Collins said. "We decided not to double up the two guys (Dillon Gee and Santana) and then all of a sudden have to scramble around in four days to see who's going to pitch."
Mets long man Miguel Batista will make a spot start in the first game against Giants ace Tim Lincecum, off to a terrible start this season. Gee, the scheduled starter Sunday, will pitch Game 2 against Madison Bumgarner.
Local
New York made the move in order to stay in rotation the rest of the week. The Mets also were a bit concerned about the possibility of more rain Monday and they didn't want Santana's outing potentially affected by bad weather.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner is coming off the shortest start of his career. He lasted only 1 1-3 innings in a 9-3 loss to the Braves last Tuesday, his third game after missing last season following shoulder surgery.
"It's definitely not the way you want to do it," Santana said. "I'm still trying to work my way back and go deeper in the games. I want to compete. I wanted to start the next day."
Collins said Santana has thrown two bullpen sessions this week following the brief outing in Atlanta.
"So there's nothing wrong with giving him another day," the manager said.
With rain falling and the forecast predicting showers all day, the game was called about 90 minutes before the scheduled start. The teams split the first two in a four-game series, with both decided in the last inning by one run.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
