Jorge Polanco sits out with sore knee that's bothered him in recent games

Jorge Polanco was not in the lineup Sunday against the Giants after leaving Saturday's game early with left patellar tendinitis. The knee has bothered him for the past two weeks after a slide into home plate and has kept him out of a few games. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the second baseman came in Sunday morning feeling "just OK."

"His knee is still something we're going to have to take care of and treat," Baldelli said, adding Polanco likely wasn't even available to pinch hit, should the need have arisen. "… I do think this is something that the trainers are really going to have to put their hands on and work on and see if they can get him in a better spot in the next day or two."

Cave hyped to help out

Jake Cave was on a 0-for-21 streak at the plate when he came in for the injured Jorge Polanco in the final four innings of Saturday's game.

But that run of disappointment abated right away, as he hit in both his at-bats, including driving in the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings, where the Twins eventually won.

Starting on Sunday against the Giants, he was 2-for-4 with four RBI, including a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a two RBI double in the fifth.

"I'm in this position I'm in, it's tough. These pitchers are really good, and [especially] when you're not seeing them every day," Cave said. "… Polanco had a little something going on. So we needed somebody to fill in, and I was glad I could get in and get some good at-bats. And one of them just happened to be one that made a big difference."

Cave played 76 games for the Twins last season but hit only .189. The outfielder didn't make it back to the MLB level this season until earlier this month and has now appeared in 18 games.

"I've had some opportunities for some big hits, and I haven't been able to come through," Cave said. "So to be able to come through right there, super emotional. I was really, really hyped. It makes me more hype to see the guys getting hype for me. I love it.

"A lot of times I'm on the bench there getting excited for when guys do things like that. So to be able to do it was cool, you know what I mean? Ninth inning, tie game hit in the big leagues, it's kind of what you dream about all the time."

Should the Twins have not won Saturday's game in the bottom of the 10th with a walk-off walk, a very rare moment would have taken place. If a series of events had played out through two or so more innings that saw Kyle Garlick needing to pinch hit against a possible lefty reliever, Baldelli was ready to sacrifice the designated hitter spot and put a pitcher in to hit.

Emilio Pagan had a helmet and a bat, ready to go if just that scenario occurred. Baldelli said that decision mostly came down to that Pagan wasn't set to pitch that day and had been a position player in a former life. But that doesn't mean there weren't volunteers.

"Dylan Bundy was mad because he wanted to put a helmet on a go hit and potentially go in the field," Baldelli said, adding pitchers are often the loudest about their hitting abilities despite very limited opportunities to prove it. "… They just think that they can grab a bat and go hit. Or they daydream about it more than the hitters. The hitters are not daydreaming about going out on the mound. Maybe a very select few."

When Kenta Maeda is healthy, though, there's no competition for that job. He hit and pinch ran for the Twins in 2021 after being a two-way player in his native Japan and with the Dodgers in the National League.

"I don't know if we have a Kenta-type of guy right now. That'll insult some other people. They'll be fine," Baldelli joked. "Kenta is a pretty straightforward choice when he's active to be able to do those things, as long as he didn't pitch earlier in that game, and he's probably not pitching the next day. I think you can bank on him being able to run for you, swing or go play, go shag in the outfield or do something like that."

Maeda has missed this season recovering from Tommy John surgery but could return to the mound late this season.