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Jun 20, 2009 - 4:12 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Tampa Bay (35-33) at New York (33-31), 4:10 p.m. EDT

New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel says he's not really concerned about ace Johan Santana, but it's safe to say he'll be looking for improvement Saturday.

Coming off the worst start of his brilliant career, so will Santana.

The star left-hander will return to Citi Field to face the streaky Tampa Bay Rays, who will be hoping to put a stop to their latest three-game skid.

Santana was almost untouchable through the first two months of the season, going 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA and striking out 86 in 66 innings.

The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner has looked like a different pitcher lately, losing two of his last three starts. None was worse than Sunday's outing at Yankee Stadium, when he gave up a career-high nine runs in three-plus innings of a 15-0 loss.

"Everyone hits a bump in the road every now and then," Manuel said.

But there have been other troubling signs for the southpaw, who allowed four home runs in his previous outing June 9 at Philadelphia. In his last three starts, he has an uncharacteristically low eight strikeouts in 16 innings, and his velocity was down around 90 mph Sunday.

While pitching coach Dan Warthen said there could be a problem with his delivery, Santana (8-4, 3.29 ERA) said the reason for his struggles isn't the back injury that bothered him earlier this season.

"I battled through some soreness here and there before, but I feel fine," Santana said. "I think I'm fine. You start the season with those numbers and everyone expects you to keep (them) that way."

The Rays (35-34) expected to be in better position after winning the AL pennant last year, but they've been plagued by inconsistency lately.

With the most productive offense in the majors, Tampa Bay had won six straight after taking the opener of a series with the Rockies earlier this week, but it has now been held to three runs in each of its last three games, all losses.

"We're just playing good enough to lose right now. We're just not getting the play, the hit or the catch," manager Joe Maddon said.

Already this month, the Rays have winning streaks of four and six and a pair of three-game losing streaks, this after dropping five in a row from May 24-28.

They'll turn to James Shields (5-5, 3.52) in hopes of ending their latest slide. The right-hander will be pitching on the road for the first time since May 24 after making his last four starts at home.

Since the beginning of last season, Shields is 6-9 with a 4.62 ERA on the road as opposed to 13-4 and a 2.74 mark at home. Shields has never faced the Mets, who have won 13 of their last 18 at their new ballpark.

New York (34-31) has won back-to-back games just once since May 30, but Friday's 5-3 triumph in the series opener pulled the team within two games of Philadelphia in the NL East.

Brian Schneider's three-run home run in the second inning - his first of the season - gave the Mets a lead they'd never relinquish.

The Rays and Mets hadn't met in eight years before Friday, but while with Minnesota, Santana has made seven previous starts against Tampa Bay. He's 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA, although all of those appearances came when the Rays were almost perennially a last-place team in the AL East.