Yankees fans remember Harrison Bader for a torrid October in 2022, when the defensively gifted outfielder came alive with his bat and blasted five home runs in nine postseason games.
Bader is proving clutch to Mets fans, too, several months ahead on the baseball calendar.
The Mets’ first-year center fielder came through yet again with a game-tying, two-RBI double in the ninth inning of what became a 4-3, comeback victory over the Giants at Citi Field on Sunday.
Bader is sporting a pedestrian .690 OPS with two home runs this season, but each of his hits seems to come when his team most needs it.
His one-out, bases-loaded double over the leaping glove of third baseman Matt Chapman accounted for his 15th and 16th RBIs on the season — seven of which have come in the eighth inning or later.
After the seventh inning this season, he is batting .364 (16-for-44).
His 14th RBI on the season came in the second inning, when he smacked a two-out single into right field to drive in DJ Stewart.
With two outs and runners in scoring position, Bader is hitting .389 (7-for-18).
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“He wants to be in those situations,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after Bader’s day helped snap a five-game skid. “It feels like he keeps coming through. It doesn’t matter how big of a situation and how big of the moment. He wants to be out there.”
Bader has proven clutch, even if he might dispute the terminology.
“I don’t know if ‘clutch’ is necessarily the word. I believe in opportunity,” said Bader, who has received more opportunity of late after ceding some time to Tyrone Taylor earlier this season. “In those situations, just got to think smaller than you normally do and put your mind in a different gear to get the barrel to it.”
On an afternoon when he drove in three runs, Bader actually accounted for a four-run difference. He stole one from the Giants with his glove.
The Mets were down 2-1 in the sixth inning in a Queens ballpark that had grown silent and appeared to accept that Mendoza’s group was going to find a way to lose another.
Adrian Houser replaced Sean Manaea, an unpopular choice for the home crowd, and the first pitch Houser threw appeared to confirm fans’ fears.
Chapman blasted a drive to deep right-center that did, indeed, clear the fence.
But Bader was well-positioned, ranged back to the wall, leapt and brought it back.
“Got out there quick enough to make a play,” said Bader, who was more measured than the pitcher he saved.
“It was huge,” said Houser, who settled in and allowed just one run in four innings. “That’s a big play, especially the first pitch in the inning, first pitch of the outing.
“It’s a big game-changer. Gets the confidence going.”
Bader’s season totals are not overwhelming, but his timing continues to change games.