NEW YORK -- The Colorado Rockies are hoping to hit the .500 mark Saturday and then use it as a springboard to more notable accomplishments. The New York Mets will be looking to avoid slipping another game closer to .500 while climbing out of the funk that has imperiled their chances at defending the National League pennant.

The Rockies try to reach .500 for the first time in more than two months Saturday night when they visit the Mets in the third contest of a four-game series at Citi Field.

Colorado (51-52) won its second straight game over New York (53-49) on Friday, when Carlos Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with four RBIs in a 6-1 victory. The win was the 11th in 15 games since the All-Star Break for the Rockies, who are five games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the NL's second wild card.

The Rockies have not been at .500 since they were 21-21 on May 21. The franchise has not been at .500 after the All-Star Break since 2010, the last time Colorado finished with a winning record.

"That's a good benchmark," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "We've worked hard to get in this position. We've worked really hard. That's the first benchmark and there are other ones after that. Obviously we want to be playing after the regular season's over."

The Mets played as long as possible last season, when they won the NL for the first time since 2000 before falling to the Kansas City Royals in five games in the World Series. But New York has lost 11 of its last 17 to fall 2 1/2 games behind the Cardinals.

The Mets have scored three runs or fewer 13 times in the last 17 games. On Friday, they had runners at first and second with nobody out in the eighth before Rockies right-hander Scott Oberg recorded three outs on three pitches.

"I think they're going to bounce back," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "We just have to quit worrying about the bad stuff and start thinking about some of the good things ahead."

Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon will oppose Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa in a battle of rotation elder statesmen. Colon, who earned the win in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals on Tuesday, will be starting on three days rest for the first time since 2005. The 43-year-old is not only the only pitcher older than 28 in the New York rotation but also the oldest player in baseball.

The 35-year-old De La Rosa, the only 30-something in the Rockies' rotation, will be looking for his 100th career win. Twenty-six active pitchers have reached the milestone.

Prior to Saturday's game, the Mets will retire the number 31 worn by recent Hall of Fame inductee Mike Piazza, who played for the team from 1998-2005.