CHICAGO — Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire rejoined the team today after missing the last five games to be with his family in Oklahoma following the death of his brother.

Gardenhire said he was still trying to cope with the loss of 54-year old Mike Gardenhire.

"I'm still kind of numb," he said before a series finale against the White Sox. "It's just all kind of surreal right now. I'm just trying to figure out what I need to do to get back into this thing."

Gardenhire was grateful that he was able to see his oldest brother when the Twins visited the Texas Rangers for a three-game series from April 25-27. Gardenhire said the death put sports in perspective.

"Baseball becomes very small," he said. "But it is a place that you can go back to to kind of help you."

Midway through Gardenhire's pregame talk with reporters, infielder Nick Punto popped his head into the manager's office and welcomed his skipper back.

"You guys were my saving grace," Gardenhire responded. "You made my days go easier."

Punto was happy to see Gardenhire.

"It was hard not to think about him on a daily basis. It was weird not having him since we've had him around every day for five years," Punto said. "He had a tough week, but it's good to have him back. We'll try to get his mind off things and play some good baseball."

The Twins, managed by third base coach Scott Ullger, went 4-1 during Gardenhire's absence.