Orlando Hernandez may finally be ready to rejoin the Yankees’ starting rotation after his best bullpen session since he suffered a dead arm at the end of the regular season.

“This is better than I’ve felt,” Hernandez said through an interpreter before the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 3-1, in Game 2 of the ALCS at the Stadium last night.

Depending on how his arm responds today, El Duque could take the mound in Boston for Game 4, scheduled for Saturday.

“It will be up to Mel [Stottlemyre] and I to decide,” said Joe Torre, adding that he intends to make a call today. “If he continues to feel well.”

Despite the way he threw yesterday, Hernandez remained only cautiously optimistic about his chances.

“I’m feeling good,” Hernandez said. “But I have to wait for tomorrow.”

Torre was wary, as well. “We still have to consider the health factor and make sure that it’s more than the fact that he wants to pitch,” he said.

Hernandez also said he felt good last week during the ALDS and sounded close to being ready to return to action in that series, but Javier Vazquez got the call instead.

Another week to rest his arm, however – coupled with yet another subpar performance by Vazquez in the Game 4 clincher against the Twins – gives Torre more of a reason to use Hernandez.

“Obviously the thing that Duque has going for him is the fact that he has been down that road before,” Torre said. “He is experienced, so that weighs heavily on his side.”

The right-hander hasn’t pitched since Oct. 1, when he tried to come back from the original injury and was ineffective. He lasted just three innings and gave up five runs to the Blue Jays.

“You never know how it’s going to feel,” Hernandez said. “You can’t go ahead with something if you don’t know what is going to happen.”