CLEVELAND -- A relief pitcher threw four days in a row? What year is it? Is it time to sound the alarms?

No, your eyes weren't deceiving you, nor had you entered the Twilight Zone; veteran right-hander Alex Colomé did, indeed, mark his fourth consecutive day with an appearance when he pitched the ninth inning on Tuesday at Progressive Field and earned the save by completing Minnesota's 3-0 shutout of Cleveland.

This might not have been as big of a deal in the past, when pitcher usage was drastically different than in the modern game, but as teams have grown to pay more attention to rest, recovery and arm health in the last several years, this sort of thing has become much more rare -- to the point that Colomé was only the second pitcher in the Majors to pitch four days in a row this year, joining Ryan Hendrix of the Reds.

"I feel good with that, because that’s something that we talk previous [to] every game," Colomé said through club interpreter Elvis Martinez. "I’m asked if I’m OK to go, and yes, like you said, I want to be out there when I’m ready. If I feel good to pitch, I don’t want to take a day off."

Though the new administration of manager Rocco Baldelli and pitching coach Wes Johnson had never used a pitcher on four straight days since they took over for the 2019 season, Johnson said there was no hesitation to use Colomé on Tuesday because they'd been tracking his catch play and pitch counts. After watching Colomé play catch before Tuesday's game and seeing how the ball was jumping out of his hand, they cleared him for use if needed.

"This isn't a rookie," Johnson said. "This is a guy who's been around and done it a long time. We lock in a lot to his catch play and his pitch counts and so forth, and Alex's catch play yesterday was phenomenal. The ball was jumping out of his hands. He looked at me and said, 'Wes, I want the ball. I feel great.' And then after seeing the catch play, you have confidence in putting him out there."

Though Colomé had actually pitched four in a row before in his career (in 2016 with the Rays), the last Twins pitcher to be used on four straight days had been Glen Perkins in June-July 2012. Furthermore, before Colomé, the last Minnesota pitcher to record a save on three straight days without rest was Joe Nathan in 2009.

The fact that the Twins are willing to push Colomé in that way for three consecutive close games shows how far he's come since his brutal start to the season that saw him carry an 8.31 ERA, three blown saves and three losses through his first nine appearances of the season.

In 48 games since then -- many in low-leverage situations before he recovered his closer role following the July 30 Trade Deadline and Taylor Rogers' injury -- Colomé has recorded a 3.13 ERA in 46 innings. He has held opponents scoreless in 16 of his last 18 appearances, dating back to July 31.

"To compare it to April, back then, I used to spend five, six, seven days between outings, and that’s really difficult to do, especially for myself, because I’m used to going out there often like I am now," Colomé said. "You can see the results right now. I’m going out there often, I’m hot, and I'm doing my job because I'm pitching often rather than how everything was happening in April."

Johnson also points out that Colomé is pitching down in the zone more effectively than he had earlier in the season -- as befitting of a ground ball-reliant pitcher -- and indeed, his bread-and-butter cutter has gone from an average of 1.63 feet off the ground in April to 1.45 feet since the start of May.

"It was just every day, 'Hey, Alex, don't forget how good you are,'" Johnson said of his message to Colomé. "'You've done this for a long time. You're really good. Your pitches are really good. We've just got to get back to the conviction and the intent.'"

Even if Colomé hasn't had the lights-out season he and the Twins hoped for when they signed him to be their de facto closer during the offseason, his recent performance has been far more of an approximation of what he looked like when he posted a 2.95 ERA through the first eight years of his career with the Rays, Mariners and White Sox.

With that in mind, the Twins do have several spots in their bullpen to fill this offseason -- with a $5.5 million mutual option built into Colomé's contract for 2022. The club can choose to exercise the option or pay a $1.25 million buyout -- and if Colomé declines his side of the option, the buyout would not need to be paid.

Colomé, at least, said he has no qualms about a possible return if the Twins so desire.

"I would like to come back," Colomé said. "I have a good relationship with my teammates. I have a good relationship and communication with the coaching staff. I like it here. But at the same time, that is a business decision that the team will have to decide. I’m just going to keep my mind clear in the offseason and be ready for whatever might happen."