NEW YORK -- Midseason Trade Deadline acquisitions produce odd late-season homecomings, especially with the newly balanced schedule. Few rival D-backs right fielder Tommy Pham’s return to Citi Field on Monday night, as the 35-year-old was one of the pieces the Mets jettisoned in early August. His first at-bat back in Queens was met with a brackish mix of applause and jeers from the sparse Flushing crowd.

The result of his second-to-last at-bat was met with silence. Pham crushed a game-tying homer to center field in the eighth inning, sparking the D-backs’ 4-3 comeback victory over the Mets. It was Pham’s third hit of the rain-delayed contest, as he finished a triple shy of the cycle in a sparkling return to New York against his former club.

“There’s a group that didn’t allow us to lose this game,” said manager Torey Lovullo. “But after Tommy hit the home run, I felt like we were right where we needed to be. It was a huge hit by a player that has been getting big hits for us since he’s gotten here.”

• Games remaining: at NYM (3), vs. CHC (3), vs. SF (2), at NYY (3), at CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
• Standings update: The D-backs (76-69) hold the No. 3 Wild Card spot. They are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Marlins (74-70) and the Giants (74-70), and two games ahead of the Reds (74-71). The D-backs trail the Cubs by two games for the No. 2 spot.

With the D-backs coming off a tough, mistake-filled loss in the finale against the Cubs, Pham was the equalizer for a team in the throes of a National League Wild Card dogfight. Who says there are no happy homecomings?

The late surge was completed after Lovullo went to the bench in the ninth inning, a move that he admitted was a “little nerve-wracking.” With one out, outfielder Alek Thomas came on to pinch-hit for Seby Zavala. Thomas had started preparing for a potential pinch-hit opportunity around the fifth or sixth inning, and he only had one thing on his mind when he stepped into the box: get on base.

He deposited a line drive into right field, putting the tying run on base against Drew Smith.

“Paying attention to [Geraldo] Perdomo’s at-bat, it seemed like [Smith] was working in the offspeed [pitches] pretty well,” Thomas said. “So I just told myself, ‘Try to stay through the ball.’ Luckily, I did. I didn’t hit it the best, but I hit it in a good spot. … Everything fell into place there.”

A few pitches later, Ketel Marte sliced a double down the left-field line, and Jeff McNeil had trouble corralling the ball against the wall, allowing Thomas to race around and score the go-ahead run.

The D-backs radiated confidence that they could put together a comeback, and it made perfect sense to them that it started with a big blast from Pham.

“It’s unbelievable how focused he is,” Lovullo said. “When he fails, he’s a great self-evaluator. He understands where he’s got to make his improvements, and what he’s got to do to be a better player the next day. … He wants to get hits, contribute and help this team win baseball games. That’s all that’s on his mind every day.”

Pham has proved to be an invaluable veteran presence to a D-backs lineup brimming with youthful energy. His rankings in the 93rd percentile or better in four different Statcast categories -- xBA, average exit velocity, hard-hit percentage and chase rate -- describe a player who takes professional at-bats and hits the ball extremely hard.

Pham has kicked it into gear as the NL Wild Card race tightens. In September, he’s slashing .302/.318/.628 with eight extra-base hits and eight runs, providing much-needed power near the top of the lineup to support Marte, Corbin Carroll and Christian Walker. 

“A lot of barrels out of that guy,” Thomas said, providing as succinct an encapsulation as possible for what Pham brings Arizona in the batter’s box.

But the D-backs believe that Pham is just as important in the meeting rooms and the clubhouse as he is at the plate. Thomas and starter Zach Davies raved about Pham’s personality and knowledge, and said that he’s used those strengths to help elevate the rest of the clubhouse. For many, Pham is a key cog for this final stretch. 

“He’s on a quest to make this team better by being himself and sharing information on what he knows through experience he’s got,” Lovullo said. “To talk about the consistency of the at-bats, the consistency of the workouts -- it’s just setting a standard for what we believe in, and the young players see it. It’s getting very good for us.”