FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Kris Benson finally can call himself a winner again, and the New York Mets can say the same about their 2005 season.

Benson pitched 7 1/3 strong innings for his first victory in more than six weeks and Marlon Anderson homered to snap a fifth-inning tie as New York assured itself of a winning record with a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies .

The Mets, who fell out of postseason contention with a 2-8 road trip earlier this month, have won 11 of their last 14 games. New York (82-78) will finish with a winning record for the first time since it was 82-80 in 2001.

"It's nice to finish strong and to end the season on a high note," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "It's nicer to be above .500 than below it, but .500 is mediocre. We want to be better than that."

Anderson hit a 455-foot home run to right field off Byung-Hyun Kim (5-12) to lead off the fifth and give New York a 3-2 lead. That made a winner of Benson (10-8), who was winless in his last seven starts since beating Pittsburgh on August 16.

"It's been a while since I won," Benson said. "It's a good way to finish up with my 10th win."

The righthander reached double-digits in victories for the first time since winning 10 in 2000 with Pittsburgh. Benson allowed two runs and six hits - including a two-run homer to Matt Holliday - and left after allowing a one-out single to Cory Sullivan in the eighth.

"I made one mistake," said Benson, who surrendered his career-high 24th homer to Holliday. "I thought that if I made one mistake instead of two, I would win the game."

Aaron Heilman relieved and got Clint Barmes to ground into a double play. Filling in for the ineffective Braden Looper , Heilman also worked a perfect ninth to convert his fifth save.

Kim lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs, seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

"You throw 52 pitches in the first two innings, it's a challenge for him to go farther than that," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said of Kim. "He did keep us in the game. He was able to compete without his best stuff."

The Mets scored in the first when Anderson singled, went to third on a hit-and-run single by Carlos Beltran and came home when the Rockies botched a rundown play.

Mike Jacobs hit his second homer in as many nights in the second to make it 2-0. Jacobs has 10 homers since being called up from the minors in mid-August. The Rockies tied it in the fourth on the homer by Holliday which plated Todd Helton , who reached on a 10-pitch walk.

The Rockies tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth on the two-run blast by Holliday, who has collected a league-leading 63 RBI since the All-Star break. The homer plated Todd Helton , who reached by drawing a 10-pitch walk.

"My main concern was to make sure Helton didn't beat me," Benson said.

Mets catcher Mike Piazza was hitless in four at-bats. The series likely will mark Piazza's finale with the Mets since his contract expires at the end of the season.