The Mets nearly scratched Johan Santana from his scheduled exhibition start on Sunday because there were pockets of rain in the forecast. However, sunshine prevailed and the left-hander pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Marlins. "He wasn't going to go through his pregame ritual, get all set to go and then wait for 35 minutes more," manager Terry Collins said of the forecasted rain. Santana has a bullpen session awaiting him Tuesday and a third Grapefruit League start Friday. In that outing, he should increase his pitch count as high as 60, throwing as many as four full innings against the Tigers. "What I'm seeing right now is a guy who's starting to get comfortable on the mound," Collins said. "He knows what he's doing. He felt great when he came out of the game [Sunday], and those were big signs."