Jorge Polanco's homer, two RBI back Bailey Ober as Twins salvage finale against Nationals

Two Twins crossed the river to deliver manager Rocco Baldelli his 300th career victory with Sunday's 3-1 decision over Washington at Target Field.

Jorge Polanco went 3-for-4, homered off the left-field foul pole and drove in the team's third run in his third game back from a rehabilitation assignment with Class AAA St. Paul. He played two games with the Saints to validate a healed hurting knee that ended last season early and delayed this one by 19 games.

Bailey Ober was recalled Sunday morning, a day after Saints teammates gave him a hearty farewell when the team was told of his reassignment. He pitched into the sixth inning, giving up three hits and the one run while he struck out four and walked three, benefiting from some unusual outs in the top of the fifth inning. It was an outing needed to give the Twins starters and bullpen some rest and relief.

The victory ended a three-game losing streak after dropping six of the previous seven games. It also kept the Twins from getting swept in the three-game series by the last-place Nationals.

Baldelli celebrated it all with a tall cool one afterward. "It was a good day out there," he said.

Ober walked two before surrendering a double and a run in the first inning, but that was it for the Nationals. At one point, the 6-9 righthander retired eight consecutive batters in his season debut after he was the last man out for the five-man rotation coming out of spring training.

Ober called himself "erratic" with his first-inning fastball, but he found some consistency with offspeed pitches that settled him down.

"We knew what we needed from him [Sunday] and he gave it to us," Baldelli said. "It didn't feel at the beginning like we'd get there, but he figured that out. He made some real nice adjustments. He became much more efficient. I think he felt a lot better."

Polanco helped with a home run that tied the score when it just stayed fair, hitting high off the foul pole into one of the party decks to lead off the fourth inning.

"I was doubting it when I hit it," Polanco said. "But then I saw."

Two outs later, Michael A. Taylor slammed his own solo shot, 444 feet to center for a 2-1 lead the Twins never surrendered.

Polanco's two-out, fifth-inning single scored Jose Miranda for an extra run the Twins never needed, thanks to scoreless relief from Caleb Thielbar, Jorge López and Jhoan Duran.

"You never know what you're going to get when a guy is just returning," Baldelli said. "You're not exactly expecting that person to be the one leading the charge. He led the charge, though."

The switch-hitting Polanco was one of eight righthanded batters in the lineup against Washington lefthander Patrick Corbin, who lasted six innings.

"You saw what he did today," Ober said of Polanco. "He's huge. It's going to be big time having him back. Having him healthy, he's a lineup changer. He can impact every single game."

Following the two Twins home runs, Washington put the leadoff runner on in the fifth inning when CJ Abrams singled. But the Twins turned Victor Robles' sacrifice attempt into a rare 2-6-3 double play — catcher to short to first — when Ryan Jeffers fielded the ball, spun and threw.

"It's something I dream about at night," Baldelli said dryly. "We do spend time on those plays. You don't see it very often. The spin move on top of it added a level of difficulty."

One batter later, Ober ended the inning by stepping off the rubber and catching the wandering Alex Call — Burnsville born and River Falls, Wis., raised — in a rundown.

"Honestly, it felt like the whole entire stadium yelled to step off," Ober said when asked if he heard Jeffers yelling a heads-up. "So I had to step off and get rid of it."