Santana will get two extra days of rest

Mets manager Terry Collins wanted to have both Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey available to face the Nationals when the Mets visit Washington the next three days to battle for the NL East lead, but it wasn't worth the juggling that would have required. In the end, Collins opted to give Santana a full week off after his 134-pitch no-hitter last Friday, which means Santana will start for the Mets on Friday in the Subway Series opener at Yankee Stadium.

Not a bad place for an encore. That decision causes the least disruption for the rest of the Mets' starting rotation. So Chris Young, who is coming back from shoulder surgery, will make his first start of the season Tuesday night in Washington and will be followed by spot starter Jeremy Hefner Wednesday and Dickey on Thursday.

"We talked about bringing R.A. back on short rest," Collins said. "I knew he could do it and he was willing to do it. I couldn't find anybody that liked the idea except R.A. He didn't mind it, but when you're 8-1 and pitching as well as he is, you don't want to disrupt the whole pre-start schedule he's on."

Santana said he didn't want to disrupt Dickey but also didn't want to miss a start. "They feel it's better to have an extra day, and I'm fine with it," Santana said. "We haven't forgotten here that I'm coming back from surgery."

With six days off, Santana will be on his normal pitch count.

Niese to have surgery

Jon Niese, who experienced a rapid heartbeat for the second time in less than a year during Sunday night's win over St. Louis, was examined Monday and said he expects to undergo an outpatient procedure called an ablation during the All-Star break that should resolve the problem. It is a minimally invasive technique utilizing a catheter to direct energy at areas of the heart muscle that cause abnormal rhythms to disconnect them from the rest of the heart, according to Webmd.com.

SEE PHOTOSPhotos: Johan pitches Mets' first no-hitter

"They go inside the heart and crimp something, like the cause of it," Niese said. "It's an outpatient thing they do. It only takes three days to recover. So I think we might be doing it All-Star break so I don't miss any starts."

Duquettes doing fine

Lindsey Duquette and her father, former Mets general manager Jim Duquette, have come through their kidney transplant surgeries and are recovering at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a spokesperson for the hospital said Monday.

Johan's no-hitter a hit

SNY's coverage of Santana's no-hitter Friday was a ratings hit, attracting 744,000 viewers and 7.73 percent of New York- area homes from 9:45 to 10 p.m. Overall, the game averaged 4.18 percent of area homes. The postgame averaged a 2.64 rating, its highest since 2009.

With Neil Best