SAN JUAN – Once again, Art Howe heard the question. Once again, he gave the same answer.

During an otherwise benign late afternoon press conference designed to drum up coverage of the opener last night of the Expos’ inaugural “home” series in Puerto Rico, the Met manager was asked about his bullpen’s three blowups over the previous four games.

Two of those came at the hands of Armando Benitez, who detonated a lead on Sunday afternoon against Montreal and suffered a total breakdown Thursday night in Miami. Howe was asked if he will do anything different in the near future.

“We’re gonna get the third out this time,” Howe said, half-seriously.

When pushed as to whether his support for Benitez is wavering, Howe responded, “Armando’s our closer and he’s going to be our closer.”

When it comes to Benitez, there is no Plan B. Maybe that’s part of the problem. If Benitez continues his unreliable stretch, Mike Stanton would be a part-time closing option. But there is no young stud being groomed, and Benitez is in the final year of his contract.

No matter what numbers you crunch or how many comparisons you make, you can’t mask the fact that he jangles the nerves of teammates and fans alike. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old acted defiant and nonchalant after two mediocre players, Montreal’s Jeff Liefer and Florida’s Juan Pierre, pinned L’s on him.

On Sunday, Liefer pulled a high mid-90s fastball down the line for a three-run homer at Shea. Pierre pulled a 97-mph heater inside the first-base line for a two-run single Thursday night.

Statistically speaking, neither hitter had any business getting the best of one of baseball’s better closers.

“Give them credit,” Benitez said. “I tried to come in and do the job, well, two hits in a row. I worked very hard to get people out and throw strikes. To me, [they were] lucky hits.

“I feel very good. I don’t have to complain about nothing. I lose the game, I take responsibility. I’m not doing my job again. But like I said, it isn’t going to stop me, because I know what I can do.”

People in uniform and inside the organization were wondering why Benitez didn’t throw his splitter on Thursday night, when he needed to get five outs. Instead, he force-fed his fastball and threw an occasional slider to eight hitters.

It’s a glaring example that when Benitez gets in trouble, he reverts back to being just a thrower instead of the pitcher he’s tried to develop himself into. The result: He’s as subtle as a sledgehammer and as predictable as the tides.

After falling behind 2-and-1 to Pierre, Benitez needed to pump a heater in, and the light-hitting center fielder pulled it.

“Pierre never pulled the ball; he likes to go away,” Benitez argued. “That’s the first time he put the ball like that. He hit a good pitch. Base hit, what can I do?

“I know what I can do. I got beat on my best pitch, my fastball. Lucky pitch. He hit a good pitch.”

If Benitez hasn’t learned yet, he never will: it’s not such a good pitch when the other guy knows it’s coming. Former Met manager Bobby Valentine was one of Benitez’s biggest defenders, but he was noticeably silent on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” Thursday as Harold Reynolds opined that the club should trade Benitez.

So far, Howe has taken up Valentine’s old cause. It’s the same old story, with the same old ending.