The New York Mets were 10 games below .500 when June ended, and their season was going nowhere rapidly.

Suddenly, New York is showing life with four consecutive victories. The Mets will try to complete a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks when the teams meet Thursday night in Phoenix.

The Mets will be looking to match their season-best winning streak of five games, accomplished twice previously. And they are only in position to achieve that due to an “Amazin’ Mets” type of rally for a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.

Arizona was one strike away from a 1-0 win before New York rookie Francisco Alvarez hit a tying homer to right-center off Andrew Chafin. Brett Baty followed with a single before Mark Canha smacked a long RBI triple to center.

“It’s really the adrenaline that heightens that moment for me,” Alvarez said through an interpreter. “That’s my favorite part of the game. When that game’s on the line, I’m not afraid of failure. I’m comfortable.”

David Robertson worked a perfect bottom of the ninth as the Mets finished off the unlikely win.

Alvarez’s 15th homer of the campaign was the big blow. The catcher flung his bat high in the air as he neared first base and even ran backwards for several steps between first and second base so he could see his teammates in the dugout.

“It was super exciting,” Alvarez said. “You guys saw me running around the bases and I did everything to celebrate that homer.

“I felt like we deserved to win. … It was such a big moment.”

Alvarez has three homers in the past four games, and he has gone deep in both games of the current series.

The Diamondbacks have enjoyed a strong season but have dropped three straight games and seven of their past 11.

Christian Walker went deep for the 18th time this season to account for Arizona’s lone run on Wednesday. He has homered in both games of the series.

That seventh-inning run held up until Chafin was called on to wrap up the contest. The 33-year-old left-hander has 19 career saves, eight of them coming this season in 11 opportunities.

He is part of a bullpen-by-committee approach in which right-handers Miguel Castro and Scott McGough have seven saves apiece. McGough got the final out of the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth on Wednesday. Castro didn’t pitch.

“I’d love it if we had a lockdown Mariano Rivera type of guy in the bullpen, but we don’t,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve got to find a way to mix and match it, and we’ll continue to do that.

“We’re going to be fine. It’s just a matter of playing it out.”

Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte (lower back) missed his second straight start but entered the game as a pinch hitter and remained in to play defense. Lovullo said Marte is expected to be in the starting lineup on Thursday.

Carlos Carrasco (2-3, 5.94 ERA) will start on Thursday for the Mets. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA over his past five starts.

Carrasco, 36, allowed two runs and five hits over five innings in a no-decision against the San Francisco Giants on Friday.

Carrasco is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against Arizona. Evan Longoria, who often faced Carrasco when both players were in the American League, is just 3-for-23 (.130) with a homer against him.

Ryne Nelson (5-4, 4.67 ERA) will get the ball for the Diamondbacks.

The rookie right-hander is coming off back-to-back stellar efforts, allowing one run and three hits while striking out six in each of them. He pitched seven innings in a win over the Giants on June 25, then threw 7 1/3 innings while beating the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.

Nelson, 25, has never faced the Mets.

–Field Level Media

The Houston Astros will look to build on their four-game winning streak when they welcome the Seattle Mariners on Thursday for the opener of a four-game series.

Houston completed a two-game sweep of the visiting Colorado Rockies on Wednesday behind a two-home run afternoon from Yainer Diaz. The catcher’s solo and two-run round-trippers powered the Astros to a 6-4 victory.

The home runs were Diaz’s ninth and 10th of the season, with seven of them coming since June 14.

“Studying the pitcher a little bit more, going up there with a better plan,” Diaz told AT&T Sports Southwest through an interpreter in his postgame interview on Wednesday. “That’s helped me a lot.”

Diaz will try to continue that hot streak in the upcoming American League West series.

Seattle had its four-game winning streak end on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series at San Francisco.

The Mariners, coming off two victories over the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays, beat the Giants 6-0 and 6-5 before managing just seven hits in a 2-0 loss to end the set.

Despite the team’s inability to score, Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez remained hot at the plate. He went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to five games, during which he is 10-for-23 (.435).

He has collected multiple hits in four of the past five games and in 18 of his past 39 contests.

“There’s still work to do,” Rodriguez said of his recent play. “We’ve got to keep moving forward. There’s still games to win, and that was my focus.”

Rodriguez was added to the AL All-Star team as a sub on Tuesday, as was teammate George Kirby, who is slated to start on Thursday.

Kirby (7-7, 3.21 ERA) picked up a win in his latest start, allowing just two hits and two runs over seven innings with seven strikeouts and two walks on Saturday against Tampa Bay.

Kirby has faced the Astros just once in his career, a start on July 31, 2022, in Houston. He struck out seven while giving up two runs on four hits and one walk over four innings in a no-decision.

Houston placed star second baseman Jose Altuve on the 10-day injured list Thursday. He missed the past two games due to a left oblique injury.

“He’s going to be evaluated more (Thursday),” Astros general manager Dana Brown said on Wednesday. “He came in today feeling a lot better, so we don’t feel like it’s the same type of injury as the other oblique that he had (earlier in the season), so that was good news. We’re in no rush to try to rush him back prior to the (All-Star) break.”

The Astros recalled right-hander Ronel Blanco from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday to start the game against the Mariners.

Blanco, 29, is 2-0 with a 4.73 ERA in 14 appearances (five starts) this season with the Astros. He is 0-0 with an 11.57 ERA in two career relief appearances versus Seattle.

The upcoming series will be the first between the AL West rivals since the Mariners took two of three in a May 5-7 set at Seattle.

–Field Level Media

Cleveland rookie right-hander Tanner Bibee will aim to continue his torrid stretch on Thursday night when the Guardians open a four-game series against the visiting Kansas City Royals.

Bibee (5-2, 3.46 ERA) won his third straight start on Saturday after scattering three hits and matching a season best with nine strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in a 6-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

The 24-year-old was taken out of the game before he could record the final out in the sixth inning, much to his chagrin. Bibee previously said that one of his primary goals this season is to pitch at least six innings in every start.

“It’s one of the most important things you can do as a pitcher is battle through whatever is going on negatively in your outing,” Bibee said, per Cleveland.com. “Being able to fight through the negatives, and bridge the bridge into the next positive, I think is one of the most important traits in a pitcher.”

Bibee will be making his 13th start of the season and the first of his career vs. Kansas City.

The Guardians could use some more pop in their lineup, especially after they were shellacked 8-1 by the red-hot Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. Cleveland may receive that jolt with the potential return of slugging first baseman Josh Naylor to the lineup on Thursday night.

Naylor, who has a team-best 60 RBIs, has missed the club’s past two games due to a sore right wrist.

“It doesn’t feel great, but it will get better,” Naylor said, according to Cleveland.com.

Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan recorded his third straight multi-hit performance and scored a run in the ninth inning on Wednesday. He is 12-for-29 (.414) in his past six contests for Cleveland, which has dropped four of its last seven games overall.

Cleveland’s Amed Rosario has driven in at least one run in a career-best five straight games.

Like the Guardians, the Royals struggled to ignite their offense on Wednesday. Kansas City mustered just four hits as the Minnesota Twins polished off a three-game series sweep with a 5-0 victory in Minneapolis.

Maikel Garcia, who had a single on Wednesday, is 13-for-23 (.565) with six runs in his past six games. He also has made himself at home while batting in the leadoff position over the past five contests.

“He is always ready to hit,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Garcia. “Maikel is doing a great job regardless of where we put him.”

On Thursday, the Royals will turn to right-hander Jordan Lyles (1-11, 6.68), who is expected to get the nod despite being plagued by an illness. Lyles missed his previous turn through the rotation but isn’t likely to face any restrictions in his return to the mound.

Lyles, 32, recorded his first win of the year in his most recent outing. He prevailed despite permitting four runs on eight hits in six innings during a 9-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on June 24 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

He is 2-1 with a 4.67 ERA in three career appearances (all starts) against Cleveland.

–Field Level Media

All-Star right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will pitch against one of his former teams Thursday night, hoping he can help the visiting Texas Rangers win the deciding game of a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

Eovaldi, 33, spent 4 1/2 seasons with the Red Sox. He helped them win the 2018 World Series after he was acquired in a midseason trade.

“Obviously I had this on my schedule and once I was able to kind of map everything out and found out we had the possibility of being able to start this one, I was super excited,” Eovaldi said of the Thursday outing. “I was excited just to be able to come back here alone, but to be able to pitch in front of the fans again would be awesome.

“I miss it here. Everything we were able to do in (2018) and the personal achievements I was able to accomplish as well. I had such an amazing time here in my career, everything is near and dear to my heart.”

Eovaldi (10-3, 2.64 ERA) became a free agent following the 2022 season. He rejected a qualifying offer from the Red Sox and signed a two-year deal with the Rangers, who made it clear their offseason priority was to upgrade the rotation.

His major league career has also included stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays.

Eovaldi has made seven career appearances against the Red Sox, six of which were starts. He is 3-0 with a 4.45 ERA against Boston.

Thursday’s start means Eovaldi could be available to start for the American League in the All-Star Game at Seattle on Tuesday.

“My main focus right now is Thursday,” he said. “After that start, I’ll be able to think about it more. It’s just an honor to be able to go out there and represent the Rangers at the All-Star Game.”

Right-hander Kutter Crawford (3-4, 3.92) is Boston’s probable starting pitcher for the Thursday game. Crawford collected a win on Saturday, when he pitched 5 2/3 innings in Boston’s 7-6 victory over Toronto. He limited the Blue Jays to two runs on three hits, walked two and struck out five.

Crawford has made one career appearance against Texas, and he didn’t allow a run in two innings of relief on May 13, 2022.

Texas won the series opener 6-2 on Tuesday, but Boston earned a 4-2 victory on Wednesday. Before the Wednesday win, the Red Sox had lost their past four home games.

Texas shortstop Corey Seager collected three hits on Wednesday. He has reached base in 24 consecutive games and is batting .392 in that span.

Although the Red Sox are hovering around the .500 mark, they are in last place in the American League East. Boston manager Alex Cora said a postseason berth is still possible, but his team must pick up the pace.

“Obviously everybody looks at the wild card and more teams make it into the playoffs, but at some point you have to start making a move,” Cora told WEEI radio on Wednesday. “If you’re at .500, it’s going to be hard. Is (a wild-card berth) obtainable? Of course, yes, but I think we have to be more consistent at maintaining the winning streaks. So far we haven’t.”

Texas has lost five of its past seven games while Boston has won four of five.

–Field Level Media