Jorge Polanco remains confident of Twins' rebound

When Jorge Polanco stepped up to the plate Tuesday night, with the Twins tied 4-4 against the Chicago White Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning, he recited a familiar invocation in his mind.

"I'm the best at my job. I'm good at what I do."

Whether in his 2019 All-Star form or struggling through a career-low 2020 season, those same words play on a loop. Delivering on those affirmations, the 27-year-old drove a two-out single to the right field corner, scoring the winning run.

The celebration that ensued was rare for a team that is wallowing at the bottom of the league.

"When you see this team coming back together, I think it's a pretty good feeling," Polanco said after his big moment. "I know we're going to be good."

That's a bold statement, considering the Twins' dire start to a season that had pundits expecting them to challenge the White Sox for the division title. Yet if Tuesday's game proved anything, it's that there are still positives on this team, albeit obscured by poor results thus far.

"We've had plenty of bright spots. We've had plenty of things to point to and build off," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Sometimes it is hard to do those things when we're spending a lot of our time trying to amend and help in other areas.

"Obviously, the wins always help. It's true. When you play winning baseball, and you play the game the way you want to play it as a team, it's all the easier and more fun, really, to talk about all of the other great things going on."

And some of that bad has even marred the good, especially in terms of injuries.

Byron Buxton earned the American League player of the month award for April, when his diving or leaping catches in center field and batting .426 with eight homers and three steals made every game scintillating. He has been on the injured list since May 7 because of a right hip strain, his return not likely until June.

Rookie outfielder Alex Kirilloff hit four home runs and two doubles in four games before he bowed out because of a right wrist sprain May 4. He is on a rehab stint, and could return to lend versatility as a lefthanded-hitting first baseman. Kirilloff played first for Miguel Sano, who also spent time on the IL because of a hamstring injury. Sano struggled to regain his offense, which had all but disappeared until he hit a winning home run Saturday and three home runs Tuesday.

The Twins don't like to use those as excuses, considering there were still plenty of prime opportunities to win games without those players that ended with the team failing to score any runners with the bases loaded or awkward infield gaffes. And everyone from Baldelli to veteran Nelson Cruz to General Manager Thad Levine has expressed how this team is good enough — in theory if not yet in practice — to turn the season around.

And at least one player has showed an about-face is possible.

Polanco went from hitting .295 with 69 extra-base hits (including 22 homers) as the All-Star starting shortstop in 2019 to playing through an injured ankle in 2020 and began 2021 with a batting average slashed nearly in half from that 2019 total.

Now with a full-strength ankle and moved back to his original position of second base, Polanco is trying to live up to his five-year, $25.75 million contract, hitting .288 in May with two homers, six other extra-base hits and eight RBI.

And he made the revival by not letting the team losses or personal failures eat at him. When he came up to bat, he repeated the same mantra and felt the same way he always does when playing baseball, no matter the outcome.

Grateful.