NEW YORK -- A problem Johan Santana never experienced when he pitched for the Twins in Minneapolis has interfered with his sixth start with the Mets. Rain caused postponement of the Mets' Monday night game at Shea Stadium against the Pirates. Their second postponed game of their season -- the first was April 4 in Atlanta -- is to be made up Aug. 11, which had been scheduled as an off-day for both teams.

Santana and Ian Snell were to have started Monday. Each will start Tuesday night instead, each with five-days' rest. They have pitched on the same days thus far -- March 31 and April 6, 12, 18 and 23. Each has made one start, his fifth, after normal four-days' rest since starting his team's opening game.

"It doesn't make much difference to me," Santana said. "You can't control Mother Nature."

Though he never was rained out in Minneapolis, Santana did experience a rainout in Detroit last season. His start on Sept. 26 was ended by rain after three innings. He had pitched at least five innings in 123 consecutive starts to that point. Only two other pitchers had longer streaks in a 50-year span ending last year -- Curt Schilling, with 147, and David Cone, with 145.

The starting assignments for Wednesday afternoon now are what they would have been for Tuesday night -- Oliver Perez for the Mets and left-hander Tom Gorzelanny for the Pirates.

Tickets from the postponed game will be honored at the Aug. 11 game, scheduled for 1:10 p.m. The salute to the Jets, the Mets' Shea Stadium co-tenants for 20 years, that was to have been staged Monday night will be rescheduled for an as-yet-undetermined date.

When the Mets and Pirates do play in August, the Mets will have played at Shea the previous day. And they are scheduled to play in Washington on Aug. 12.

Because of the rescheduling, the Mets will play each day beginning Aug. 5 and through Aug. 27. The prevailing preference of the players was to play two games Tuesday and not lose a late-season day off when fatigue is more likely to be an issue than it is now. Some players were miffed that the August date was chosen by the club.

The collective bargaining agreement between the Players' Union and the clubs limits to 18 the numbers of consecutive days a team can be scheduled to play. However, a rescheduled game can be inserted in the schedule even if the number of consecutives days with games exceeds 18.

Aaron Heilman, the Mets' player rep, said playing Aug. 11 was "the best option we were given." He had to sign off on it. But, as he said, "We have to authorize it, but we have only suggestive power."