NEW YORK -- Mets left-hander Johan Santana said he "feels fine" on Saturday, a day after throwing a 134-pitch no-hitter, the first no-hitter in the history of the franchise in its 8,020th game.
But the Mets, wanting to be cautious with Santana, who missed all of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, have a plan in place where the 33-year-old would be pushed back a day or two, according to manager Terry Collins.
Santana's next start is scheduled for Wednesday. But he said he'd have no problem with starting on Thursday in Washington or on Friday in the Bronx against the Yankees.
"Definitely, the next couple days are going to be important to see how I recover," said Santana, who has now thrown back-to-back complete games. "To see when I'm gonna throw my bullpen, and if we have to take an extra day, there's nothing wrong with that."
Since the day he tried to lift the Mets into the playoffs with a torn knee ligament, Johan Santana was the right man to deliver a magical moment that escaped more than a half-century's worth of New York Mets, Ian O'Connor writes.
Collins struggled with his decision to keep Santana, who was supposed to be on a pitch count of 115, in the game. But given that Santana was on the verge of making history, Collins said he wasn't going to pull him.
"My heart told me to take him out due to the fact that I'm playing with a huge piece of the organization. If this guy goes down, it'd be pretty drastic for us," Collins said. "But also, there was history in the making, and in the moment, he wasn't coming out. I wasn't gonna take him out."
Part of Collins was wishing Santana would give up a hit so he could take him out and wouldn't have to worry.
But after the game, owner Jeff Wilpon and general manager Sandy Alderson told their manager he'd made the right decision to leave him in.
"They told me, 'Don't beat yourself down over this. You made the right move,' " Collins said. "I appreciated their confidence in the move."
Collins also got a call from former St. Louis Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa on Saturday.
"He said, 'Look, you did the right thing,' " Collins said. "When it comes from those people, I feel a lot better about it."
After accomplishing the rare feat, Santana said he'd never thrown a no-hitter at any level -- even in a video game. So he wasn't about to take himself out.
"I never give up. I've been through a lot," Santana said. "And to have an opportunity like [Friday night], it was unbelievable. It might be once-in-a-lifetime. You may spent your entire career and never have a chance to do it. And right when I had that opportunity, I was like there's no way that I'll come out."
Santana approached Collins after the game and gave him a hug.
"He said, 'I told you to trust me,' " Collins said. "And I said, 'Yeah, you did.' "
Collins joked that Saturday's starter, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, is on a pitch count of 130.
Collins said that outfielder Mike Baxter, who slammed up against the wall after making a tremendous catch out in left in the seventh inning, was still wiih the doctor undergoing a battery of tests.
Collins said aside from an MRI, Baxter also received a CT scan and was being tested for a concussion.
"The report was he was really, really in pain this morning," Collins said.
According to a report in the New York Post, reliever Elvin Ramirez, who just got promoted to the majors on Friday, hurt his hamstring diving into the celebration pile after Santana finished off his no-hitter, and is likely headed to the disabled list.
Right-hander Chris Schwinden, who was designated for assignment by the Mets, was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays, the team announced.
Shortstop Ruben Tejada, currently on the DL with a quad strain, will run on Saturday and run the bases on Sunday, Collins said.
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