ATLANTA (AP) – Pedro Martinez is out for the postseason after an exam Thursday showed the New York Mets ace has a torn tendon in his left calf muscle.
The Mets, who won their first NL East title since 1988 with Martinez battling injuries most of the season, won’t have the three-time Cy Young Award winner at all in the playoffs.
Martinez returned to New York after getting knocked around in his final start of the regular season Wednesday night, a 13-1 loss to Atlanta.
An MRI showed a tear in the left calf – different from the right calf injury that recently put him on the disabled list for a month and was thought to be his major concern.
“He did mention (Wednesday) that he felt some pain in the other leg,” general manager Omar Minaya said Thursday. “The bottom line is he’s not going to be available.”
Martinez will need four-to-six weeks to recover from the final setback of an injury-plagued season. Surgery will not be required.
Orlando Hernandez will start Game 1 next week in the best-of-five division series, a game the Mets were hoping Martinez would be pitching. Tom Glavine will go in Game 2.
AP-ES-09-28-06 2121EDT
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