Players to Watch: Mets vs. Diamondbacks

Jul 8, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock (middle) celebrates with teammates after hitting a three run home run during the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Coming off a two-game sweep of the Texas Rangers, the Arizona Diamondbacks (42-42) head to New York to take on the Mets (44-42) as they wrap up the first half of regular season.

The D-backs took care of business in Arlington earlier this week. They took game one against the Rangers 4-2 and came up with seven runs on Wednesday to take game two 7-4.

The win on Wednesday propelled Arizona back to a .500 record, a feat they have struggled to accomplish during the early parts of the season.

On top of that, Arizona is now tied for second-place in the NL West with the San Francisco Giants. Both teams are five games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into Friday.

The Mets, meanwhile, have not been entirely consistent as of late. Once the leaders of the NL East, the Mets now find themselves in second-place, three games behind the Washington Nationals.

They will head home to face the D-backs after a successful six-day, six-game road trip. They took two-of-three from the Dodgers last weekend and two-of-three from the Giants earlier this week.

But prior to that, the Mets went 4-3 at home to end the month of June. They swept the Cincinnati Reds then were swept by the Chicago Cubs, losing three in a row.

The D-backs and Mets split a four-game series earlier this season at Chase Field back on June 4-7 with Arizona taking game one, Mets taking games two and three and Arizona snagging game four to avoid the series-loss.

It may be a tough weekend for the D-backs this time around though. The Mets love playing at home. In fact, they have a 29-14 home record this season, compared to 15-28 on the road.

With that, here are some guys to keep your eyes on in this series as we head into the All-Star Break.