A's Reliever Yusmeiro Petit Wanted to Pitch Hours After His Mother Died

A's reliever Yusmeiro Petit suffered the worst kind of tragedy on Monday and still wanted to do his job.

Petit's mother, Rubia, passed away Monday, and just hours later, he made sure manager Bob Melvin knew that he wanted to pitch in the game against the Rangers.

"His mom passed away, actually, before the game yesterday. We all had heavy hearts for him. He really wanted to pitch. I was not going to use him in that game unless he really wanted to. And he really wanted to pitch yesterday. It ended up being a really tough day for him. I think early this morning he was flying home. We're all saddened for him. He's a pretty big personality in our clubhouse, which has nothing to do with that. It's been a tough couple of weeks for him," Melvin told reporters in Texas before Tuesday's game.

Last week, Petit was placed on the family medical emergency list. He returned to the team on Saturday, but was placed on the bereavement lists Tuesday.

Petit pitched 1.2 innings in the A's 9-4 win on Monday night. The first batter he faced, Jurickson Profar, lined a ball off the back of Petit's left leg. Despite getting hit, he stayed in the game.

Melvin was asked about Petit's outing in light of what he was dealing with.

"I'm amazed. And then gets hit on top of it and remains in the game, finishes that inning and goes back out and gets two other hitters out. I didn't expect it. Obviously, I appreciated it," Melvin said.

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