MILWAUKEE -- D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said Friday that Daniel Hudson will start Saturday's Game 2 of the National League Division Series, something that had been assumed all along.

Hudson was 16-12 with a 3.49 ERA in 33 starts this year as he formed a potent one-two punch with Game 1 starter Ian Kennedy at the top of the rotation.

The bigger question has been who will start Game 3 and a possible Game 4 in Phoenix. The answer, along with the roster itself, will not be announced until Saturday morning.

It seems likely that the D-backs will start Joe Saunders in Game 3 with rookie Josh Collmenter getting the nod in Game 4, though, if Gibson has shown anything this year, it's that he is unpredictable.

Saunders is the lone starter with postseason experience, having started once for the Angels in the 2008 American League Division Series and twice in the '09 AL Championship Series. The left-hander faced the Brewers on July 20 at Chase Field and did not get a decision after allowing two runs over seven innings.

Collmenter has been a key component of the rotation after being called up in mid-April. The right-hander was outstanding in back-to-back starts against the Brewers and did not allow a run in 14 innings.

The first time Collmenter faced Milwaukee was at Miller Park, where he tossed six innings. He then allowed just three hits over eight innings at Chase Field.

Meanwhile, Hudson would likely prefer to forget his lone start against the Brewers this year.

On July 4, Hudson was roughed up at Miller Park as he allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits in four innings with the big blow being a grand slam by the opposing pitcher, Shaun Marcum.

The D-backs wound up rallying from a 6-1 deficit to win, 8-6.

Rookie Parker may make NLDS roster

MILWAUKEE -- Rookie Jarrod Parker is apparently a candidate to make the D-backs' postseason roster.

The right-hander was taken to Milwaukee, where the team will pare down its roster to 25 on Saturday morning before Game 1.

"Do I have to tell you everything?" D-backs manager Kirk Gibson jabbed when asked if Parker was a candidate to be in the bullpen or rotation for the National League Division Series.

Parker made his Major League debut Tuesday and was impressive in allowing four hits over 5 2/3 shutout innings, but it seems more likely his postseason role would be in the bullpen.

"A little bit, you know," Parker said when asked if he was surprised he was a candidate for the postseason roster. "But I'm certainly not mad about it."

Parker, the team's No. 1 pick (ninth overall) in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, has never pitched out of the bullpen in his professional career other than in Spring Training. He is also coming off Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss the entire '10 season.

Parker said adjusting to the bullpen would not be a problem.

"I don't throw a ton before the game when I'm starting, so just maybe get going a little quicker," he said. "But it won't be any different, I don't think."

D-backs still weighing roster options

MILWAUKEE -- The D-backs have some roster decisions to make before Saturday's deadline.

Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said the team traveled 30 players and must be down to 25 on Saturday morning before that afternoon's Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

It seems safe to assume that the following players are locks to make the roster:

Pitchers: Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders, Josh Collmenter, J.J. Putz, David Hernandez, Brad Ziegler, Micah Owings, Bryan Shaw and Joe Paterson.

Position players: Justin Upton, Chris Young, Gerardo Parra, Ryan Roberts, Willie Bloomquist, John McDonald, Aaron Hill, Paul Goldschmidt, Lyle Overbay, Miguel Montero, Henry Blanco, Sean Burroughs, Geoff Blum and Collin Cowgill.

There is also an extra position player in the clubhouse at the moment who would be the odd man out. That could be Robby Hammock, unless he pushes out one of the other players.

If the team carries 11 pitchers, as expected, that would leave one spot open for the group of Jarrod Parker, Alberto Castillo, Zach Duke, Wade Miley and Ryan Cook.

The D-backs brass met Friday morning to discuss the roster and was expected to do so again following the afternoon workout.

D-backs embrace underdog role

MILWAUKEE -- It did not take long for the D-backs to find some fresh bulletin board material.

On a white board near the entrance to the Miller Park visitor's clubhouse on Friday someone had taped up a USA Today story that ranked the teams in the postseason. Arizona was eighth out of eight.

Infielder Ryan Roberts laughed as he read through the description of the D-backs in the story.

"It's like some people don't want to turn the page," Roberts said. "They want to still look at us like the team that finished last two years in a row. It really doesn't matter. You just play it out, and at the end of the day see where you're at."

After losing 92 and 97 games in 2009 and '10, respectively, the D-backs were not picked to win the National League West. For the season's last two months, they had a column from a local newspaper that said they wouldn't catch the Giants taped on a white board.

Right fielder Justin Upton was asked if he was surprised by the latest slight.

"No, we're just a bunch of guys that nobody has ever heard about in Arizona," he said. "Still nobody has heard about us. We're just here to play a baseball game, man. That's just our stance on it. All of us enjoy playing baseball. It is what it is. We're not Derek Jeters or A-Rods, we don't have any of those guys."

D-backs manager Kirk Gibson was asked about his team's relative anonymity on Friday.

"You can cover us if you want, you don't have to cover us," Gibson said. "We play hard every day."