The Twins knew their bullpen would likely be a work in progress this season, and 104 games into the season, let’s face it, it still is.

But that 104th game was a good one.

Starting in the eighth after a stellar start by Taj Bradly, five relievers each threw a scoreless inning as the Twins rallied to beat Cleveland 3-1 in 12 innings on Thursday at Progressive Field. Jack Anderson, a right-hander claimed off waivers on July 11 and recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday, pitched the last inning for his first major league save.

Sometimes, a plan just comes together.

“If I had told you going into the game yesterday that Jack Anderson was gonna close the game out and get his first save three days in, you’d have told me I was crazy,” manager Derek Shelton said. “But the one thing about this group is we’re really resilient and we use our whole roster.”

Andrew Morris, Yoendrys Gómez, Tommy Nance and Taylor Rogers each threw a scoreless inning before Anderson, 26, came in for a rare chance to close a game. A starter for Boston’s Triple-A team in Worcester, he worked three long relief stints for the Red Sox — his first major league games.

Asked Friday when he last pitched for just one inning, Anderson said. “Years.”

Thursday’s win kept the Twins very much alive in the American League Central and AL wild card races and, maybe just as important, showed that even in a season of major transition — Anderson is the 24th reliever to make an appearance for Minnesota this season —  the bullpen can sometimes function at a high level.

It will play a big role in whether the Twins surprise everyone with a playoff appearance — they were 2½ out in the AL wild card race before Friday night’s game against the A’s at Target Field — or sink slowly into the second division, where most expected they would be in August.

Asked if he has been able to look at his bullpen and see it beginning to form into something whole, Shelton laughed.

“I don’t know if any manager’s ever gonna tell you that,” he said. “I mean, how many games have we played? A hundred and four? And, honestly, we’re still in a little bit of flux with how we use our bullpen.”

Anderson has the distinction of having had some immediate success in his first couple of appearances for Minnesota, something that eluded recent additions such as Wu-Suk Go and Justin Lawrence. He is not a typical late-inning pitcher; he throws in the low 90s and has five pitches — fastball, slider, curveball, sweeper and splitter.

“I had to learn those to actually get guys out,” he said.

But there are advantages to pitching in relief. All of his pitches were 2 mph faster than usual on Thursday, averaging out to about 93.3 mph, he said. And, he said “It definitely feels better on the arm.”

Anderson faced four batters for the Twins on Tuesday in Cleveland and when he woke up Wednesday, “It was the best my arm has felt after an outing in years.”

Who knows whether Anderson will get another chance like that one in Minnesota? Not even Shelton.

“I think we know the fact that Gomez and Morris are gonna be at the back end somewhere, but overall, I think we’re still trying to put guys in a position to get the most out of their abilities and get them the right matchups,” he said.

Whatever works, said Anderson. He just wants to pitch. Earning a major league save wasn’t in his immediate plans, and he had a hard time sleeping when he got back to Minnesota on Friday.

“I was definitely amped up,” he said. “I was still amped up on the plane coming back but finally got to sleep and slept well. It was one of those cool moments after the game, where you’re like, ‘We got here.’ I’m gonna save that ball for the rest of my life.”