MINNEAPOLIS -- It¡¯s always fun to find out that a baseball player has a good nickname, and as it turns out, Emmanuel Rivera has one that has made its way around the Orioles¡¯ clubhouse.

¡°El Pulpo¡± -- or, translated to English, ¡°The Octopus.¡±

And on Saturday, ¡°El Pulpo¡± collected more total bases than a real octopus has tentacles during a career night for the 28-year-old infielder.

Rivera swatted a pair of home runs while recording career highs in hits (four), RBIs (four) and total bases (11) in Baltimore¡¯s penultimate game of the regular season -- a 9-2 win over Minnesota at Target Field. It was the second multi-homer performance in the four-year MLB career of Rivera, who previously hit two while playing for the D-backs on Aug. 13, 2022, at Coors Field.

Since Sept. 6, Rivera is batting .364 (16-for-44) with three doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs in 17 games. He has emerged as a quality contributor for the O¡¯s, who claimed him off waivers on Aug. 21 (two days after he was designated for assignment by the Marlins).

How impressed has Orioles manager Brandon Hyde been by this roll for Rivera?

¡°¡®The Octopus¡¯ -- that¡¯s his nickname,¡± Hyde said with a smile while publicly revealing Rivera¡¯s moniker for the first time. ¡°Incredible. He¡¯s just done a great job since he¡¯s been here. He¡¯s filled in for us in an amazing way. Great to see him have a huge night tonight, national TV [on FOX]. Everybody¡¯s excited for him in there.¡±

Hyde didn¡¯t know why Rivera is called ¡°The Octopus,¡± so members of the media then went straight to the source. It was discovered that the nickname stems from his father, Miguel, who was an amateur baseball player in the family¡¯s home country of Puerto Rico.

¡°Well, my dad had the same nickname of ¡°The Octopus¡± -- ¡°The Octopi,¡± I guess you can say -- since I was a little kid,¡± Rivera said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. ¡°It just seems like it¡¯s a family thing. 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.¡±

Rivera may have been known more for his glove when he was acquired by Baltimore, but his right-handed bat continues to impress. His playing time has diminished since infielders Jordan Westburg and Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas returned from the injured list last Sunday, but Rivera is proving why he¡¯d be valuable to have on the bench in the postseason.

On Saturday, Rivera¡¯s first homer was a two-run blast in the second inning that traveled a Statcast-projected 442 feet, the longest of his 22 MLB home runs. He went deep again in the fifth, clubbing a 405-foot solo shot that landed in the hat of Cionel P¨¦rez -- the seventh such catch on a homer by the O¡¯s reliever this season.

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¡°[Rivera] brings a lot of really good energy and kind of an edge to our team,¡± said rookie infielder Jackson Holliday, who went 3-for-4 and reached base five times. ¡°It¡¯s been really fun to watch what he¡¯s been able to put together for the past month or so that he¡¯s been with us. It¡¯s been awesome.¡±

Whether Rivera is included on the Orioles¡¯ AL Wild Card Series roster could depend on their split of position players and pitchers. Teams can carry up to 13 pitchers, but Baltimore could go with only 12 or even 11, considering it¡¯s a best-of-three set and rosters reset for each series. Some MLB teams have opted to do so since the Wild Card Series was implemented in 2022.

If the Orioles go with 13 position players, the final spot would likely belong to either Rivera or lefty-swinging rookie outfielder Heston Kjerstad. Both could make it, though, in a 14-12 split.

¡°It¡¯s all possible. We¡¯ll have a roster meeting when we get back to town. Everything¡¯s on the table right now,¡± Hyde said. ¡°We don¡¯t even know who we¡¯re playing yet. A lot of things can factor into that.¡±

The result of Saturday¡¯s game was inconsequential, as Baltimore (90-71) was already locked in as the No. 4 seed in the AL. It will host either Detroit (86-75) or Kansas City (85-76) in a best-of-three Wild Card Series at Camden Yards beginning Tuesday. The Royals would win a potential tiebreaker with the Tigers for the No. 5 seed.

The Orioles, who went 101-61 last year, have won 90-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since going 94-68 in 1982 and 98-64 in ¡®83, the year of the franchise¡¯s third and most recent World Series championship.

Rivera, who played in the Fall Classic with the D-backs last year, is hopeful he can be part of another deep October run with his new club. His showing on Saturday displayed what he could bring.

¡°It¡¯s something really special, and I think every baseball player hopes to have a night like tonight,¡± Rivera said. ¡°Any opportunity I have to be here with the team and help the team win, I¡¯m always looking forward to it.¡±