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NEW YORK -- Jeff Suppan pitched a pair of clinching games in 2004, the last time the St. Louis Cardinals made it to the World Series.

Jeff Suppan

Starting Pitcher St. Louis Cardinals Profile

2006 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L BB K ERA 32 12 7 69 104 4.12

They'll ask him to do it again in Game 7 against New York Mets fill-in starter Oliver Perez.

Suppan beat Roger Clemens in Game 7 of the 2004 NLCS after eliminating the Dodgers in the divisional round. He was the team's second-most reliable starter with 12 victories, and had a 2.34 ERA after the All-Star break.

His last outing was one of his best all season. He allowed only three hits in eight shutout innings in Game 3.

"We have a lot of confidence in Soup," third baseman Scott Rolen said. "He's a great professional. He's going to go out and do his job, there's no doubt about that."

Mets manager Willie Randolph waited until after beating St. Louis 4-2 on Wednesday night to announce that Perez would get his second start of the NLCS. Perez allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings in New York's 12-5 victory in Game 4 after going 3-13 with a 6.55 ERA in the regular season.

Oliver Perez

Starting Pitcher New York Mets Profile

2006 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L BB K ERA 22 3 13 68 102 6.55

"He's done a nice job for us since he's been here, very similar to Johnny Maine in a lot of ways," Randolph said. "He's throwing the ball well. He needs to give us another quality start."

Scrambling for starters throughout the postseason because of injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, New York had several choices for Game 7, including Steve Trachsel and long reliever Darren Oliver.

"Everyone wants to pitch in the seventh game," Perez said. "You have to just prepare. It's another opportunity for me."

Trachsel left Game 3 in the second inning with a bruised thigh after getting hit by Preston Wilson's hard comebacker. He would have been on regular rest, but was roughed up by St. Louis for five runs, five hits and five walks in one-plus inning last Saturday.

Trachsel is 0-1 with a 14.54 ERA in two playoff starts covering only 4 1/3 innings. He warmed up in the ninth, but Randolph said Trachsel was just getting some work.

Oliver replaced Trachsel in Game 3 and threw six scoreless innings of three-hit ball. But the left-hander hasn't made a start all season.

"This series has kind of gone back and forth," Mets outfielder Shawn Green said. "The rotation obviously has had a lot of injuries and guys have stepped forward and got us to this point. We feel like we can find a way to win these last two and get to the World Series. It's obviously not going to be easy."

Throughout the season, Suppan's favorite catchword was "focus," and he leaned on it again in a pregame interview session Wednesday.

"My confidence comes from our team and I focus on what we have to do as a team to win," Suppan said. "So, obviously our focus is on today. I don't really concern myself a whole lot on what the Mets have to do right now."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press