The Twins suffered a significant loss when Pablo Lopez exited his last start early and now the team knows how long he’ll be sidelined.

The Minnesota Twins turned their season around with a hot steak in May. On Wednesday, the Twins beat the Athletics 6-1, picking up their third straight win. However, the victory took a backseat to Pablo Lopez’s concerning injury update.

The Twins now know the severity of the starting pitcher’s ailment. The team announced that Lopez was diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain of the teres major in his right shoulder, per The Minnesota Star Tribune’s Phil Miller on X. He will miss 8-12 weeks.

The Twins lose ace Pablo Lopez to IL

The news is brutal for the Twins, as Lopez has been special this season. The All-Star righty has posted a 2.82 ERA, 1.071 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 146 ERA+ and 1.3 bWAR in 60.2 innings.

Lopez has paired with Joe Ryan to form a very effective one-two punch in the rotation. Ryan is having an equally stellar season as the aces have helped turn things around for the Twins. Minnesota got off to a slow start this year. But an incredible 13-game win streak from May 3 – May 17 got the team back on track.

Although the Twins are just 7-6 since the streak ended, they’re now 34-27 on the season following a third straight win against the Athletics. That record would put the team in first place in the AL West. However, in the AL Central the Twins are six games behind the Detroit Tigers, who own the best record in baseball.

Lopez guided the Twins to victory on Tuesday, allowing just two runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts in five innings. Unfortunately, he was forced to leave the game with an injury before the sixth inning. Lopez took the mound, threw one warm up pitch and immediately signaled to the Twins’ dugout, asking to come out.

Minnesota gets one more game against the Athletics before having to face competitive baseball teams. The A’s have now lost nine in a row and gone a putrid 1-20 over the last 21 games.