Now that this game will be played, the Mets will have to bring up a starter for Wednesday. Minaya said it will likely be somebody from New Orleans, and that most likely somebody will be Adam Bostick.

Since Matt Wise will eventually be activated and back in the bullpen, who should go down? Personally, I feel Luis Castillo’s quad will become a lingering issue and a stint on the DL is possible.

Joe Smith, Angel Pagan, and Endy Chavez are the candidates. Smith has allowed five earned runs and struck out 13 in 15 innings, so nobody wants to let go. Don’t forget he was this good last April and May before falling off. Pagan (.278) and Chavez (7 for 63) wouldn’t be missed.

Had Pagan not pinch-hit yesterday, he and his nagging shoulder could have gone on the DL, and been retro’d to the Dodgers series to buy some time.

In-game updates:

Second inning: Nelson Figueroa was reminded of what a bad fielder Carlos Delgado has become the Nationals tied the game at 1-1 because of it. Damion Easley just smacked a solo shot to center to put the Mets back up.

If you aren’t watching the game on TV, you missed five-tool star Lastings Milledge nearly made a fool of himself in center on Easley’s homer. He was difting toward the bleachers in left-center on a ball that went directly over the “410” sign in center. Had the ball hit off the wall, Milledge would have been a good 20-30 feet away from it.

As I write this, Ryan Church just lined a single to right. Right now, it’s his MVP to lose.

Third inning: Just checked the media guide. Here’s a little known fact about Nelson Figueroa: he hates pitching with a lead.

For the third inning in a row, he gave back the lead, this time on a horrendous throwing error. He did a nice job of knocking down Felipe Lopez’s grounder but air-mailed the throw to the plate.

The throw actually went through the batters box. Perhaps he was confused and thought there was someone batting. He’s already hit three guys.

Fifth inning: Figueroa is nearing 100 pitches and just gave up an RBI single to the opposing pitcher… and NOW somebody starts warming up in the pen.

Obviously, that person is Jorge Sosa, who is Figueroa’s personal reliever.

Sixth inning: The line on Jorge Sosa: 1 inn., 4 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks.

Would the Angels accept a trade of Matt Wise for Darren Oliver? The Mets clearly don’t need Wise and Sosa is miserable right now. Actually, Oliver hasn’t been quite as good as his 2006 season with the Mets, so I’m sure that won’t work. But it goes to show how valuable an innings-eating reliever can be. The Mets are now blown out of this game.

Eighth inning: Half of the 250 fans at Shea Stadium just broke for the exits after David Wright’s based loaded ground out ended that threat. It’s 10-4 in the ninth against one of the worst teams in baseball.

It leads me to a question: How cold does it have to be for some people to leave a game? There couldn’t have been more than a few thousand here at its highest point, which surprised me. Some people are still sticking around even now.

Be back after the game with any news/notes.

Kevin Devaney here, filling in for John Delcos, as the Mets open up a four-game series with the Nationals at Shea. The forecast was for thunderstorms and heavy wind. I’m here at Shea now and all we’ve got are the gusts.

The tarp is on the field but it probably hasn’t rained in well over an hour. Odds are there will be a game.

If there is, that means the Mets will have to call up a pitcher for Wednesday, since Saturday’s doubleheader threw Mike Pelfrey off his schedule. The spot start will likely go to Adam Bostick, who was pulled after three innings on Saturday night for Triple-A New Orleans. Bostick would be sent down right after.

A game tonight would also delay the return of Matt Wise. The reliever was with the team all weekend but wasn’t activated off the disabled list. Wise would have to wait until after Bostick goes back to the minors to be activated. He has returned to Port St. Lucie, according to Mets.com.

Nelson Figueora starts tonight for the Mets. Going down to the clubhouse now. Will be back later with news and lineups.

Update, 6:05 p.m.: Here’s the Mets lineup for tonight:

Reyes, SS
Church, RF
Wright, 3B
Beltran, CF
Alou, LF
Delgado, 1B
Easley, 2B
Schneider, C
Figueroa, P

Pregame notes: Still no official word on whether Santana will start Thursday against the Nats or Friday at Yankee Stadium. Willie Randolph didn’t understand why this was such a big deal. “I’m not going to get all flip-floppy,” Randolph said. “We’ll see what happens over the next couple of days.” Pelfrey would start whichever day Santana doesn’t. Santana said pitching on an extra day of rest and going on Friday didn’t make a difference. ... Luis Castillo had an MRI this morning on his left quad. It’s a strain. He’s not playing tonight and said he “hopes to be back by Wednesday, maybe tomorrow.” Since he also mentioned that the quad had been bothering for a while before he removed himself from yesterday’s game, I’d imagine he won’t be back until the weekend series. ... Easley starts at second. He’s 1 for 7 on the homestand.

Update, 6:33 p.m.: Wanted to mention two more things:

First, Endy Chavez is likely not going to be available tonight. He strolled into the clubhouse a little over an hour before the first pitch. He said he was sick with a stomach bug.

Second, Pedro Martinez worked out today. According to Omar Minaya, he’ll likely throw either live batting practice or a simulated game this week.

It should be a long day of baseball. First game is 1:10; the second is 7:10. Amazingly, this is the fifth doubleheader (between covering the Mets and Yankees) I’ve been assigned to in three seasons. That’s got to be some kind of record.

The lineup for Game 1:

Mets
Reyes, SS
Castillo, 2B
Wright, 3B
Beltran, CF
Church, RF
Alou, LF
Delgado, 1B
Schneider, C
Santana, P

Pregame notes: Angel Pagan (shoulder) said today that he still isn’t fully healed from his plunge into the stands in L.A. and likely won’t be available today. “It’s getting better every day,” the outfielder said. “I might need two more days.” It’s not ideal to be short-handed on the day of a doubleheader, but the Mets will adjust. Pagan didn’t think he’d be available to pinch hit, either. My gut is that he ends up on the DL. ... Reliever Matt Wise still hasn’t been activated from the DL, although he is here. The Mets are waiting for when they need him, which just might be after the first game today. ... Mike Pelfrey is starting the second game. Randolph said that he expects to him to “mosey on in” soon.

A few other thoughts:

— It will be interesting to see who plays the second game for the Mets. Randolph said he wanted to keep Santana on target for today’s first game because he was his “best guy” and didn’t want to disrupt him. It’s probably that Willie knows Delgado, Beltran, Castillo, and Alou won’t play both games, and would rather not throw a weak lineup behind Santana.

— If Pelfrey struggles today with his command, there might be some truth to the idea that he was at his best earlier this season because BRIAN SCNEIDER was catching him. Raul Casanova had caught him recently but has been designated for assignment. Ramon Castro is back. Castro will catch the second game.

— Randolph insists that Delgado was dropped to the No. 7 spot in the order to break up the lefties. Makes sense, I guess. But it can’t do much for Delgado’s psyche to be dropped yet again.

Enjoy the game. I’ll be back with updates.