The Phillies are sizzling, the Mets are reeling, and the Yankees are treading water. All three of them can move the needle in their direction this week.

It’s mid-June, and baseball is beginning to align itself. The Atlanta Braves and the Tampa Bay Rays seem to be the true locks nearing the halfway point of the season, and there are plenty of Wild Card candidates in both leagues.

And how about those Texas Rangers? They have stayed atop the AL West while everyone is waiting for the defending champion Astros to arrest their ascent.

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column, I’ll take a look at the trends of the Phillies, Mets, and Yankees as well as the rise of the Rangers - and some Phillies-Rangers connections.

Phillies Fever ... The Phillies won their series finale in Oakland Sunday, winning for the 13th time in their last 15 games and were four games over. 500 (38-34) for the first time since the end of last season. They had won five straight games and five series. At the end of May, they had lost five in a row - including a three-game series to the Mets - and eight of their last 11.

Two big difference makers have been Kyle Schwarber and the starting pitching.

Over his first 15 games in June, Schwarber hit seven homers and had 13 RBIs. He now has 56 career homers in June.

The starting staff of Taijuan Walker, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler - along with reliever Craig Kimbrel -have all pitched very well this month. Walker has been a difference maker, winning all three starts with a combined 21 strikeouts and an 0.45 ERA.

Nola, Wheeler, and Kimbrel all picked up a pair of wins, and Suarez has looked like his 2022 form. Kimbrel allowed just one earned run in his last five outings. The organization is high on Cristopher Sanchez, and they hope he can continue to develop as the fifth starter.

The Phils host the Braves and the Mets this week, and need to keep their momentum. Philly is eight games behind the Braves, but just three behind the second-place Marlins, who host Toronto Tuesday.

Ironically, the Phillies had a hot June last season. At this point, they were 36-31 and they had won 15 of 17 in June. The club hit a season-high 16 games above .500 when they were 72-56 on Aug. 28.

Mets’ Misery ... With their 8-7 walk-off loss to St. Louis Sunday, the Mets’ bullpen allowed their league-high 41st homer, and they were ranked 20th before the game. The Amazins’ now have lost 11 of their last 16 games, and fell five games below .500 at 33-38.

It’s true the bullpen does miss closer Edwin Diaz, but they still haven’t found consistency with former Phil Dave Robertson and ex-Yankee Adam Ottavino. No lead is safe, as they have lost 10 games when they have scored six or more runs, a trend that only happened four times all last year.

Unlike the Phillies, their starting pitching hasn’t come together.

Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander have both battled injuries and inconsistencies. Carlos Carrasco has had some moments, but he was gone after three innings Sunday. Tylor Megill’s ERA has been around 5.00 all season, and Kodai Senga has been the most consistent starter despite his penchant for walks.

The Mets are hitting .241 as a team, ranked 21st overall. They did get Pete Alonso back in the lineup Sunday, and he has 22 of the team’s 83 home runs.

Their next 10 games will be interesting as New York travels to Houston and Philadelphia before they return home for a four-game series with Milwaukee. My sources say manager Buck Showalter is safe, but something will be done if this trend continues over the next week.

Yankee Yawns ... The Bronx Bombers were swept by rival Boston in a day-night doubleheader Sunday and stand 39-33, 10.5 games off the pace behind the Rays. They have lost eight of their last 11.

Like the Mets, the Yanks have little starting depth behind Gerrit Cole. Nestor Cortes, Domingo German and Luis Severino haven’t been able to consistently fill the bill. The Yanks are missing Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodon, but you can see a trade for another starter in the near future.

The Yanks’ bullpen has pitched to a 2.99 ERA and has allowed a league second-best low 21 homers.

Aaron Judge is out of the lineup indefinitely - is this starting again? - and the Yanks have had little to offer. D.J. LeMahieu is hitting under .240, and Anthony Rizzo has 11 homers. With Judge out with his 19 homers and 40 RBIs, Gleyber Torres has contributed with 12 homers and 36 RBIs.

But the Yanks seem to have a blase’ lineup, hitting .230 as a team.

They will host Seattle and Texas this week, and the Rangers also will be under the microscope.

Texas Two-Step ... Speaking of the Rangers, people are still wondering if they are for real. They lead the league with a .272 average and also in runs (434), hits (675), doubles (154), RBIs (416) and on-base percentage (.341). If you remember, these were the same Rangers that swept the Phillies to start the season pretty convincingly - outscoring them 29-11 - and people wonder how they did it.

They have managed their 44-27 record and four-and-a half game lead over the Angels basically without the services of pitcher Jacob DeGrom - looking more like an all-time bust with his rash of injuries - and have relied on ex-Red Sox Nathan Evoldi’s nine wins, and Martin Perez’s six wins.

This was a team that was 68-94 last season and fired both its manager and general manager. They managed to coax Bruce Bochy out of retirement, and Bochy has proved again why he is one the best managers in the past 50-plus years.

Texas did sign Marcus Semien and Corey Seager last season to big deals, and they both slumped. This season, they have paid dividends. Semien and Seager both have double digit home runs, as well as Adolis Garcia and Josh Jung.

They have gotten it done with a true team effort, and still are flying under the radar.

Texas does have a shot to get its first AL pennant since the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Remember Ron Washington? He was the skipper who took the Rangers to consecutive World Series in those two years, losing to Bochy and the Giants in 2010 and the Cardinals a year later. Ex-Phillie Cliff Lee, along with Nelson Cruz, were key players back then.

You can also look back a few years from there with Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Rafael Palmerio, and Juan Gonzalez.

If you followed them back in the 70s, you’ll remember Toby Harrah, Jeff Burroughs, and Gaylord Perry, to name a few, as well as former Phils’ manager Frank Lucchesi - who had a fist fight with Lenny Randle.

From Cheesesteaks to Cowboys ... Over the years, there have been more than a few players who played for both the Phillies and Rangers, some you may have forgotten.

We all remember Lee, Pete Incaviglia and Mitch Williams, but do you recall Sparky Lyle, Doug Glanville, Kenny Lofton, Marlon Byrd, Jamie Moyer, Dave Stewart, and think back to Ferguson Jenkins. Those are among the more prominent ones.

Final Thoughts ... Keep an eye on the Twins (more on them next week), and see if the Dodgers can hold the NL West ... I miss the old-fashioned 5:05 or 5:35 p.m. scheduled doubleheaders. Had my share of covering them at the Vet, and always tried to count people in the stands for the first game. Maybe you were at one of them ... Don’t like Boston’s yellow and light-blue city uniforms. They look more like a soccer uniform.

Feedback ... Your thoughts, comments, and ideas are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com