Mets strikeout ace Johan Santana tried to slip a fast one past Mayor Bloomberg — but the mayor was ready for it.

Bloomberg disclosed today that when he called to congratulate Santana on pitching the first no-hitter in Mets history, the hurler asked if he was rooting for the Yankees or the Mets to win the World Series.

“I said, `I’m too smart to pick one,'” Bloomberg recalled. “It’s great to have two New York teams in contention. What I’d like to see is a subway series decided in the ninth inning and New York be the winner.”

Truth be told, the mayor wasn’t much of a sports fan until his athletically-inclined younger daughter, Georgina, started dragging him to ball games and hockey matches a few years ago.

Bloomberg is attending tomorrow’s Mets-Yankees showdown with Georgina and London Mayor Boris Johnson, who the mayor said might never have attended a baseball game before.