CINCINNATI -- Jorge Polanco saved his best for last.

Polanco fouled off four straight pitches before crushing a 2-2 slider from Reds closer Heath Hembree (2-6) over the visitors’ bullpen down the right-field line for a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth, as the Twins rallied for a 7-5 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park. It was just their second win when trailing after the 8th in 43 tries this season.

“It was a great at-bat,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He kept grinding it out. Having to foul off so many balls, he put up a tough at-bat. He did a great job and kept it fair."

Heading into the at-bat, the Twins had been just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

"That at-bat with Polanco, it’s just one of those things where given the situation, you’re trying to be unpredictable in a way with an at-bat that’s gone that long,” Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “We got the feeling, I thought, we thought that three sliders in a row -- which he hadn’t seen the entire at-bat or the entire game -- was a pitch we could use, especially after he seemed like he pulled off of it and fouled it off after the second one in a row with two strikes.

“It wasn’t a bad pitch, I didn’t think. I’ll have to look at it. I mean, he’s a good player. He’s arguably their best hitter and he was able to put a barrel on it and keep it inside the pole by a little bit."

Danny Coulombe (2-1) recorded the final out of the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth to record the win. Alex Colomé worked around a leadoff single and walk to open the ninth before recovering for his third save of the season, his first since April 7, and sealing just the Twins' second win in six games.

“[Perseverance], that's a keyword and that's going to be something that we discuss in our clubhouse,” Baldelli added. “It was a very challenging day. Not everything came simply to us and the way we would draw it up. But these are the games that you have the ability to win. If you stay at it, you continue to pitch. Well, you continue to play well defensively. Keep yourself in the ballgame.

“And you know sometimes, your hitters come back and do something like we did tonight. And you know these games, many of these close ball games, these are winnable ball games. But you have to prove to yourself that they're winnable ball games by going out there and winning some of them. And that's what we did tonight. It was a very worthwhile and meaningful win when you win it like that.”

Twins starter Kenta Maeda was let off the hook by the ninth-inning rally. The Twins’ right-hander -- who allowed just seven runs and two homers in five July starts -- surrendered five runs and three homers in his first start of August.

Eugenio Suárez, Barnhart and Jonathan India went deep off Maeda before the home crowd of 18,396.

The second inning featured a pair of stellar defensive plays as Andrelton Simmons charged a Joey Votto high chopper over the pitcher’s mound and flipped the ball on the run to Miguel Sanó, nabbing Votto by a step.

Not to be outdone, Luis Arraez -- filling in again at third for Josh Donaldson (right hamstring) -- made a nice catch on a Max Schrock foul pop, snatching the ball just as it was ready to land on top of the TV camera in the photo well next to the Twins dugout.

The good vibes spilled over to the third when Max Kepler and Brent Rooker connected for back-to-back one-out doubles off Reds starter Tyler Mahle for a 1-0 lead.

But Maeda’s first two pitches in the bottom of the third inning did not stay in the park as Suárez and Barnhart homered on consecutive pitches to put Cincinnati on top, 2-1. Back-to-back doubles from India and Jesse Winker extended the lead to 3-1.

Mitch Garver homered deep to the seats in left in the fifth inning with Maeda and Rooker aboard to give the Twins a 4-3 lead.

“He just threw me that heater at the top of the zone and I got my bat to it,” Garver said. “I’m trying to do less with my swing and not worry about where it goes. I’m just looking to hit it hard and stay within myself and my approach.”

Maeda faced an old foe in the fifth when Shogo Akiyama came to the plate, pinch-hitting for Mahle. The two faced each other in Japan when Maeda pitched for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Akiyama played for the Saitama Seibu Lions.

Maeda, who finished with nine strikeouts, tapped his glove in frustration after Akiyama fouled off three pitches before dropping a soft liner into left for a one-out single. The frustration turned to downright angst when India turned on an 83 mph splitter in the next at-bat and drove it 402 feet to the seats in left to again wipe out a one-run Twins lead.

“I wasn’t surprised at how the ball flew,” Maeda said through a team translator. “Nine [strikeouts] were all good, but I kind of had regret on the three home runs. I think if I had executed those pitches better, things could have changed. So, that's the takeaway from today, for me.”

Maeda walked Winker before fanning Kyle Farmer and Votto to avoid further damage. Maeda, who has struggled away from Target Field, surrendered five runs, seven hits and three homers, his worst outing since June 29 at Chicago when the White Sox tagged him for eight hits and seven runs.

Maeda’s three homers allowed matched a season high, as he also yielded three in consecutive starts at the end of April.

Donaldson came off the bench to pinch-hit in a critical situation in the eighth. The Twins managed to load the bases with just one out, and called upon him for his first at-bat since last Wednesday. After newly-acquired Reds reliever Mychal Givens fell behind 2-0, Donaldson fanned on a 96-mph fastball before grounding into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.

Baldelli said after the game that Donaldson was available to pinch-hit over the weekend in St. Louis but the opportunity never presented itself. The hope is to have Donaldson ready to return on Thursday in Houston.