July 4 -- DON'T MESS WITH THE JOHAN

When the Mets fitted Johan Santana for his jersey after trading for him in late January, most pundits also figured they'd eventually need his ring size. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was supposed to be the piece that put the Mets over the top in the NL East -- and beyond.

But, as he takes the mound tonight at the Bank, The Johan (no relation to the Zohan) is a .500 pitcher who has lost four straight decisions, matching a career-high.

What's wrong?

Well, the only thing rotten about Santana is his luck. He has a 3.01 ERA, and in his seven losses, he has matched up against elite pitchers John Smoltz, Ben Sheets, Tim Hudson, Randy Wolf, John Lackey, Felix Hernandez and Andy Pettitte. Santana's ERA in those losses: 3.35. After his latest loss, a 3-2 decision against Pettitte and the Yankees last Saturday, Santana seemingly took his teammates to task for their lack of support.

"It seems like you have to be perfect every time you go out, but I'm not perfect," he said. "I'm just trying to help my team and hoping at some point they will score some runs. I mean, if you see what's going on around this team, it seems like I cannot make a lot of mistakes. But do I feel frustrated about it? No, because I know they're trying, and I'm trying to do my job. It's just things are not working."

Here's your Mets-Phillies primer:

METS (42-43) at PHILLIES (47-39)
Tonight, 7:05: LHP Johan Santana (7-7, 3.01) vs. LHP J.A. Happ (2008 debut)
Saturday, 7:05: RHP John Maine (8-6, 3.86) vs. LHP Jamie Moyer (7-6, 4.13)
Sunday, 1:35: LHP Oliver Perez (6-5, 4.98) vs. RHP Kyle Kendrick (8-3, 4.58)
Monday, 7:05: RHP Pedro Martinez (2-2, 7.39) vs. RHP Adam Eaton (3-6, 4.79)
Hot: Mets 3B David Wright has 15 hits in his last 31 at-bats (.484); Mets RF Ryan Church is 8-for-21 in five games since coming off the disabled list (concussion); Phillies 2B Chase Utley was 14-for-38 (.368) on the nine-game road trip; Phillies 3B Pedro Feliz is batting .333 (21-for-63) with 12 RBIs in his last 19 games.
Not: Mets 1B Carlos Delgado is batting .204 with only five homers in night games,.293 with 10 homers in day games; Mets SS Jose Reyes has 12 errors, equaling his total from last season; Mets 2B Luis Castillo is on the disabled list with a hip flexor and soreness in both knees; Phillies C Carlos Ruiz is hitless in 18 at-bats; Phillies RF Geoff Jenkins has four hits in his last 50 at-bats.