NEW YORK (AP) — Harrison Bader walked into a new clubhouse for the third time in 18 months and felt empowered as he introduced himself to Mets teammates.

“They might hear some stories about your personality. They might know your game or they might look on Baseball Reference at your numbers, but they really don’t know much about you,” he said. “Waking up every day, coming to the clubhouse, there’s a lot of power in knowing that you can write your own narrative here.”

Bader put the Mets ahead in the eighth inning for the second day in a row, hitting a two-run double off an angry Aroldis Chapman that lifted New York over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Monday night.

New York overcame a 3-0, sixth-inning deficit and reached .500 for the first time since the Mets were 30-30 before play last June 6. New York has won eight of 11 following an 0-5 start under first-year manager Carlos Mendoza, its reversal of fortune coinciding with Bader’s turnaround.