Twins Beat Sox, Trade for a Reliever, Provide Numerous Injury Updates

The Twins returned to Target Field after a ten-game road trip and snapped a five-game losing streak with a 9-6 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday evening. Joe Ryan struck out nine batters over six innings and No. 9 hitter Tristan Gray hit his second grand slam of the season to help the Twins (28-33) beat the White Sox (32-28) for just the second time in the last 11 games between the teams.

Ryan pitched around immediate trouble in the first inning, and the Twins struck first in the bottom half on a Trevor Larnach RBI single. Andrew Benintendi tied it for the Sox with a two-out single in the third. In the bottom of the fourth, with the bases loaded and two outs, Gray got a curveball from Chicago starter David Sandlin and lofted it out to right field.

GRAY WITH A GONER! pic.twitter.com/YzVpVjckkP
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 2, 2026

Gray previously hit a grand slam in the Twins' home opener against the Rays back on April 3 (against now-teammate Yoendrys Gomez). Notably, both the White Sox and Rays traded him away in 2025. Gray is one of three players in MLB this season with two grand slams. He joins 2023 Royce Lewis as the only Twins players with multiple grand slams at Target Field in the same season.

The White Sox immediately responded with a two-run homer from Miguel Vargas and a solo shot from Benintendi off of Ryan, but then the Twins punched back with four more runs in the bottom of the fifth to go up 9-4. Austin Martin, Victor Caratini, Luke Keaschall, and Gray all drove in a run in consecutive plate appearances.

Chicago got two runs back on another Vargas homer in the ninth, but the Twins held on for a much-needed win. They'll look to win this three-game series behind either Connor Prielipp on Tuesday night or Taj Bradley on Wednesday afternoon.

Twins acquire a reliever

In their ongoing search for bullpen competency, the Twins have made another addition. They traded cash considerations to the Pirates for veteran right-hander Justin Lawrence.

Lawrence, 31, debuted for the Colorado Rockies in 2021 and, after struggling early in his career, put together a strong 2023 season with a 3.72 ERA, 11 saves, and 78 strikeouts in 75 innings. He went back to struggling in 2024 and saw his time with Colorado end. Last year, Lawrence had a 0.51 ERA in 17.2 innings for the Pirates but missed most of the season with an elbow injury.

Justin Lawrence | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

This season with Pittsburgh, Lawrence had a 5.32 ERA in 22 innings before being designated for assignment. He now joins the Twins, where he'll have an opportunity to bounce back.

Lawrence has a 5.05 career ERA in 233.2 MLB innings, with 236 strikeouts and 130 walks. He throws mostly sinkers and sweepers, though he'll also mix in a four-seam fastball. Control has been an issue for Lawrence during his career, but when he's at his best, he can miss bats with the sweeper and induce weak contact with the sinker from a very low arm angle.

Justin Lawrence, K'ing the Side in the 8th pic.twitter.com/MTisu7s4SA
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2026

One exciting aspect of this addition is that Lawrence becomes yet another Twins save candidate.

Twins injury updates

Prior to Monday's game, Twins GM Jeremy Zoll met with the media and provided quite a few updates on injured players.

Good news:

SP Bailey Ober has a flexor strain and will be shut down for 10-14 days, but an MRI showed no ligament damage.
LHP Kendry Rojas could be cleared to resume throwing this week after landing on the IL with inflammation in his pitching elbow. He too avoided a UCL injury.
SP Mick Abel is set to throw a two-inning live batting practice session on Thursday, and if that goes well, a rehab assignment could be coming fairly soon.
Triple-A outfielders Walker Jenkins and Alan Roden, who have both been sidelined with shoulder injuries, could begin rehab assignments next week.
SP David Festa, who hasn't pitched all year due to right shoulder impingement, started a throwing program on Monday. He'll ramp up very slowly, but this is a step forward after he was completely shut down for a while.
RP Cole Sands will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.

Less-good news

Star outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, who had surgery on his thumb on May 20, is estimated to have another 4-6 weeks of recovery time before he can begin a rehab assignment.
Catcher Ryan Jeffers, who also had surgery on May 20, still has at least 2-4 weeks remaining in his recovery from a hamate bone injury in his left hand. He seems unlikely to return until July.

Add us as a preferred source on Google