Polanco, Twins savoring 'really fun' walk-offs

MINNEAPOLIS -- Jorge Polanco gasped in surprise as the ice-cold Gatorade showers just kept coming -- one, two, three. One for each of the recent walk-offs that have earned him a spot in the Twins’ record books.

After the chaos of an early starting pitcher injury, a makeshift bullpen game, a five-run inning, a blown save and game-saving defensive plays on both sides in extra innings, the Twins had Cleveland right where they wanted them: Polanco at the plate with a chance to walk it off.

“When Polo got to bat, I said, ‘We won,’ already,” Luis Arraez said.

That’s a pretty safe bet right now -- and indeed, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th inning, Polanco smacked a soft line drive to right field that dropped in front of Cleveland right fielder Bradley Zimmer as the Twins’ dugout poured out onto the field in celebration of an 8-7 victory in Wednesday’s series finale that secured Minnesota’s fourth straight series win.

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Minnesota’s last three victories have been walk-offs -- all courtesy of Polanco, who became the first player in Twins history to record walk-off RBIs in three straight team wins. In fact, only two other players on any team have accomplished the feat in the regular season since RBIs became an official stat in 1920. The most recent instance occurred in 1982, when Tony Peña did so for the Pirates. George Scott had been the first to do so with Milwaukee in 1973.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many late-inning, walk-off-type wins in this period of time,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I mean, it’s pretty awesome. Those are normally some of the most memorable moments of your season. You have a handful of them every year, but what we’ve been doing lately has been pretty special and a hell of a lot of fun.”

The first Gatorade shower came from Andrelton Simmons and Arraez, who dumped an icy yellow bath over Polanco’s shoulders for the first of those walk-offs -- a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 4-3 win over Tampa Bay.

Ryan Jeffers was next with a cooler full of water that Polanco didn’t see coming -- and that one was for Monday, when Polanco gave the Twins a 5-4, 10-inning victory with a walk-off double down the right-field line.

And Polanco could definitely see big Miguel Sanó emerging from the dugout with another massive cooler of water to dump on his head -- for the one-out single off Cleveland reliever Justin Garza on Wednesday that followed Max Kepler reaching on an error and Jake Cave’s walk, which loaded the bases.

"They are really fun,” Polanco said. “Everybody here's enjoying it. The fans are enjoying it. It's so special for us."

Historically special, in fact.

Polanco’s five walk-offs this season matched Kent Hrbek’s five in 1987 for most in club history. It’s also the first time the Twins have recorded three straight wins in walk-off fashion since Sept. 2-5, 1987.

“He's a great man, a great player,” Sanó said. “He's a special hitter. In those moments, he needs to take care of the team, and he puts it on his back and he knows what he needs to do."

Polanco’s continued walk-off magic and Sanó’s team-leading three RBIs helped the Twins to a fourth consecutive series win, a run that has now spanned nine wins in a 13-game span against Houston, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Cleveland. This tough stretch will continue against the Yankees, Red Sox and Brewers -- but the Twins are playing some of their best baseball of the year to match it.

“I look forward to coming to the ballpark in a big way right now, just because of the way the guys are going to work, doing their jobs, showing a ton of enthusiasm, not just during the game, but before the game with everything they're putting in, and we're seeing some real growth from some of our guys,” Baldelli said. “And we want more. We're not just sitting here slapping ourselves on the back because we've won a few games.”

Starting pitcher Lewis Thorpe’s second-inning injury necessitated a makeshift bullpen game before the offense wrested control of the contest in the fifth as the Twins came from behind to take the lead with six straight two-out hits, including a game-tying, two-run double by Sanó. He had crushed a 475-foot homer an inning earlier, the second-longest by any American League hitter this season.

The bullpen has largely been solid through this recent span, but Alex Colomé snapped a string of nine straight scoreless appearances by allowing a pair of doubles and a game-tying wild pitch in the ninth inning to force the Twins back to the plate. Tyler Duffey pitched around a pair of runners in scoring position in the 10th and Nick Gordon preserved a tie in the top of the 11th with an inning-ending diving catch in center field.

And at that point, with Polanco likely to come up in a big spot, carrying a .934 OPS since the start of July and a penchant for the dramatic, Cleveland’s fate was all but sealed.

“Oh, he’s on something special,” reliever Ralph Garza Jr. said. “He might be putting up some history right now, honestly. Seeing it firsthand is something special, and I’m not taking it for granted.”