After losing the first two games of a three game set in Oakland, the Mets battled the rain and had a seven-run fifth inning to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Athletics. This series was a rematch of the 1973 World Series, which was won by the Dick Willaims? A?s and featured the descent of Willie Mays. Trailing 3-1 heading into the fifth inning, the Mets strung together six straight hits, including a three-run home run from Carlos Beltran, deep into the right field bleachers. Beltran, who has been carried by Cliff Floyd for most of the season in the middle of the New York lineup, got a fat pitch from Oakland starter Ryan Glenn. With the win, the Mets are once again playing .500 baseball. Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya have the team believing in themselves as a legitimate playoff contender for the first time since 2001. The in-season acquisition of Danny Graves was an effective first step to put the pieces in place to make a charge in what is the most balanced division in all of baseball. They will surely make another move, far bolder, to land a big bat to play first base. Mike Cameron could still be used in any such move. He can?t seem to remain healthy and because he has swung a hot bat when active, he has become an attractive commodity to clubs like the Orioles and Padres. Minaya is keen on Victor Diaz, a 23-year old, who optimistically speaking, could become a poor man?s version of Manny Ramirez. The two keys to the Mets charge begin and end with their two high priced free agent acquisitions, Beltran and Pedro Martinez. Martinez has been brilliant all season long, proving to the Red Sox that they chose the wrong aging ace to head into the post-1918 world with. Schilling has been on the DL for nearly the entire season, while Pedro is 7-1, with a 2.58 ERA and 107 strikeouts. Having Pedro anchor the Mets? rotation takes a lot of pressure off Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano, who on their former teams were asked to be aces, but are clearly more comfortable as middle of the rotation hurlers. Beltran, on the other hand, has had a disappointing first two and a half months in Queens. His blast on Thursday was just his eighth of the year (Beltran of course had eight in the 2004 playoffs). He was this year?s version of Vladimir Guerrero on the free agency market and has a long ways to go to match Vlad?s MVP season, which included a trip to the postseason.