Twins will ease Jorge Polanco back as he returns from knee injury

Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco's second day back after missing the first 19 games of the season included a seventh-inning double Saturday and a fouled pop out that ended the game on a 1-for-5 day.

He went 1-for-4 in his season debut Friday night. He started at second and batted fifth in the middle of the lineup in both games after returning from inflammation in his left knee, an injury that also sidelined him for the last month of the 2022 season.

"I think he's looked good," manager Rocco Baldelli said Saturday. "I've been pretty pleased with what I've seen from him. The at-bats have been solid. He has held up well."

The Twins are scheduled to play 10 days in a row at home. Baldelli said he and his staff will look at the schedule seeking a break one day in the next three or four.

"He's going to play a few days and we'll see how he comes out of it," Baldelli said. "He's going to get a day at some point pretty soon. Hopefully, he can play three, four, five more days and we can go from there. But it's nice start for him, for sure."

Polanco is hoping for some good health after playing in only 104 games last season. He had never been on the injured list before 2022.

"Sometimes with him, we don't even have to ask him to take a day off, we just kind of tell him," Baldelli said. "When we do have to talk to him, we can suck the words out of him and make him tell us what's going on. Overall, I think he's doing very well, which is a good thing for us."

Fellow righthander Simeon Woods Richardson was to be sent back down to Class AAA St. Paul after he pitched 4⅔ innings in relief of Pablo López in Saturday's 10-4 loss.

"We anticipate Bailey throwing a lot of major league games for us this year," Baldelli said. "So we have no hesitation."

Baldelli said he's looking for occasions to use Ober and Louie Varland out of St. Paul.

"Get them inserted, get everyone else an extra [rest] day," Baldelli said. "There's real benefit to that over the course of the season, knowing you get to turn to those guys and look to them."

Byron Buxton was in Saturday's lineup, batting leadoff as the designated hitter. He hit a third-inning solo homer after the Twins had fallen behind 4-0 in two innings.

"I don't think anyone truly knows the answer to the question," Baldelli said. "I am enjoying the fact that I get to write his name in the lineup virtually every day right now. At this point, I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize that because that's the most important thing."

For now, Michael A. Taylor remains the everyday center fielder. Taylor has started all but one game this season.

"We have probably one of the best half-dozen defensive outfielders in all of baseball playing for us every day." Baldelli said. "That's worth a lot in and of itself and he has done a good job for us."

• Kenta Maeda threw on Saturday and has a bullpen session scheduled for Monday after he was knocked out of Thursday's game at Boston with a dangerous line drive to his left ankle. "We'll know a lot more once his arm starts moving," Baldelli said. "Once we see if he can plant his lead leg, we'll see how that goes. It's going to be a one-step-at-a-time situation, but it seems like it's going well."