MINNEAPOLIS — It would have been difficult to foretell this a month ago, when the Orioles claimed Emmanuel Rivera from the Miami Marlins as a placeholder for their plethora of injured infielders.

The 28-year-old corner infielder didn’t have much success with the Marlins. By the time he was designated for assignment in late August, Rivera was hitting .214 with a .563 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. But Baltimore claimed Rivera because Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urías were injured and there weren’t many other options.

Now, with all three of those players having returned from injury, Rivera’s role isn’t as defined. But, in the Orioles’ 9-2 win against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, Rivera displayed his worth again.

“He’s just done a great job since he’s been here,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s filled in for us in an amazing way. Great to see him have a huge night tonight on national TV. Everybody’s excited for him in there.”

With the postseason approaching, Rivera’s ability to play multiple positions while finding more success at the plate than ever before makes him a valuable bench option. Rivera notched a career-high four RBIs and posted Baltimore’s season high of 11 total bases by recording two home runs, a double, a single and a walk. He reached base all five times and managed his first career four-hit game.

In doing so, Rivera elevated his average to .364 in 17 games since Sept. 6. And he was the largest contributor in an all-around offensive outburst in the penultimate game of the regular season. Rivera drove a two-run shot in the second inning, plated another run with his third-inning double and blasted his second homer in the fifth — leaving him with his first multihomer game since Aug. 13, 2022.

After the game, another fun fact about Rivera materialized. His nickname, Hyde blurted out, is “The Octopus,” or “El Pulpo” in Spanish. The name began with Rivera’s father and continues with him.

“It just seems like it’s a family thing,” Rivera said though team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “So they just pass it down, and decided to put it for me, too. Some people also say it’s because of my defense, and I play really good defense out there, so it makes some sense. But it really is a family thing.”

Rivera was joined by Ryan O’Hearn in going long. O’Hearn, whose Friday homer was his first since Aug. 27, now has two in as many games after throttling an opposite-field, two-run shot. Catcher Adley Rutschman also drove in two runs, and Mountcastle added one.

Additionally, Jackson Holliday started at shortstop for the first time in his major league career and hit leadoff with Gunnar Henderson earning a night off. Holliday finished with three hits and two walks as part of Baltimore’s 16-hit game.

“It was really fun; to be able to lead off a big league game and play shortstop is pretty special for me,” Holliday said. “Was able to go out and have fun, put together a good game and a good offensive show for the team.”

There was little to play for Saturday, with the Twins having crashed out of the postseason picture and Baltimore sealing the top wild card spot the night before. But, for Rivera, a strong performance here likely solidifies his place on the postseason roster — and maybe more.

Rivera is under team control until 2028. By impressing here, Rivera could well make Baltimore an option for himself next season, too, when he enters the first year of arbitration.

As the Orioles look ahead to the postseason, they opted to start right-hander Matt Bowman as an opener before turning to newly promoted left-hander Tucker Davidson to carry the bulk of the game. Bowman pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings, and Davidson impressed with 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

This was Davidson’s first MLB action since last year, and he entered it on the back of a solid Triple-A season in Norfolk. Davidson pitched to a 3.89 ERA for the Tides in 115 2/3 innings, with 17 starts.

“It was fun to kind of learn to pitch through the lineup two or three times as opposed to one inning, or being the long guy out of the bullpen,” Davidson said before the game. “I learned a lot about myself, and it was a fun year.”

To end it with a cameo in the majors made it more fun. The Orioles wanted him to cover innings so they could keep their pitching staff fresh for Tuesday’s wild card opener, and he delivered.

They also relied on Rivera and others to give a few regulars days off. Henderson had a day off for the first time since June, so Holliday led off and played shortstop. Westburg, Hyde said, needed a breather. Outfielder Cedric Mullins sat.

But, without the stars, the runs still piled on quickly, with Rivera — er, El Pulpo — at the center of it.

“I think every baseball player hopes to have a night like tonight,” Rivera said.