"It counts as a victory for the Mets nowadays simply when they aren't delivering bad news about one of their injured stars. And when they can report injury improvement on top of a second victory on the field in a rain-soaked span of 17 or so hours, it's especially sweet, which is why the Mets were thrilled Thursday as they packed for their trip to Texas.

After a 4-1 victory over the A's in front of 30,168 that left the Mets one game under .500, the team announced that the stress fracture in David Wright's back has healed enough that the third baseman is cleared "to commence fuller baseball activity," GM Sandy Alderson said.

Wright is still weeks away from returning to the Met lineup, but "with all the blows we've taken in the last six weeks, this is finally a positive," Terry Collins said. "When you saw David, he was so fired up to get back on the field. This is really, really good news for us."

Along those lines, Chris Capuano, one of the primary reasons for Thursday's victory, probably will not be hampered in his next start by the cramp that cut short his outing Thursday after six scoreless innings in which he allowed five hits and struck out seven.

Further proving Thursday was the Mets' day, Francisco Rodriguez rebounded after consecutive blown save chances by tossing a 1-2-3 ninth for his 20th save. He and Collins both agreed to monitor his future use to prevent long layoffs, too.

Capuano (6-7) went home before Wednesday's game was over so he could get proper rest, a good idea considering the game went 13 innings after the first pitch was delayed 63 minutes by rain. At one point, Capuano said, he was lying in bed in his upper East Side apartment watching the game and debating whether to go to Citi Field in case he was needed to pinch-run."