(UPDATED: 5:25 P.M.) The Mets have set their rotation for after the All-Star break, with the struggling Livan Hernandez still on thin ice but getting at least one more start. Oliver Perez will get the nod Thursday in Atlanta when the Mets open a four-game series with the Braves.

Perez will be followed by Mike Pelfrey on Friday, then Johan Santana on Saturday. Fernando Nieve will get Sunday’s start, then Hernandez will pitch the opener of a three-game set in Washington on Monday.

Jerry Manuel, though, said Jonathon Niese is waiting in Triple-A Buffalo to take the place of a back-end starter who has three bad outings in a row. That would appear to apply to Hernandez, who has endured back-to-back awful starts and four consecutive losses overall.

“We’ve had some success with the rotation we have, and you gotta kind of give guys the benefit of the doubt,” Manuel said. “[But] if there’s three [bad starts] or something like that in a row, that’s a time to start considering other changes.”