El Duque out for entire postseason

An MRI on Tuesday revealed Hernandez sustained a tear in his calf.

"That takes time," Minaya said.

El Duque lined up along the first base line with his teammates for pregame introductions.

"He's got a boot on his leg, so not too comfortable getting around," Randolph said. "We're going to hold out that, you know, when we get to the World Series that he'll be able to help us."

The Mets informed Maine on Tuesday night that there was a good chance he would start Wednesday. After Minaya and Randolph discussed all their options, they decided on Maine late Tuesday night, the GM said.

"He was the perfect guy for it. He was right on turn," Randolph said.

Hernandez was replaced on the first-round roster by Perez, acquired at the trade deadline with reliever Roberto Hernandez in the deal that sent right fielder Xavier Nady to Pittsburgh.

Steve Trachsel will start Game 3 for the Mets. Trachsel, who was 15-8 with a 4.97 ERA this year, skipped his scheduled outing last weekend to attend to a family matter on the West Coast. He returned to New York late Tuesday afternoon and had a bullpen session.

Left-handed reliever Royce Ring also made the team. He had been sent to Florida as part of a taxi squad to stay ready.

The Mets kept 12 pitchers for the first round.

Backup outfielder Michael Tucker was included on the roster, giving the Mets another left-handed bat on the bench. Rookie outfielder Lastings Milledge and outfielder Ricky Ledee were left off. Milledge also was part of the taxi squad in Florida.

New York kept two catchers instead of three: starter Paul Lo Duca and backup Ramon Castro. Mike DiFelice was left off.