Detroit — Enmanuel De Jesus raised his arms to the heavens Friday night after he got the last out in the Tigers’ comfortable 8-0 romp over the Houston Astros at Comerica Park.
But there was more to that gesture than a baseball win.
“It’s been a tough situation,” said De Jesus, a native of Venezuela where more than 900 people are reported dead following a pair of earthquakes on Wednesday. “It’s been tough to go out and perform and try to have a calm face. The situation is not easy for anybody.”
De Jesus and fellow countryman Keider Montero, who spun seven brilliant scoreless innings, wore VZ emblazoned on their hats to recognize and support their country. And their voices were thick with emotion afterward.
“God has his hands on this,” said Montero, through interpreter Carlos Guillen, also a Venezuela native. “I’m happy with what I did tonight but I am even happier the way my teammates helped me to win. I got their support and I appreciate it. It means a lot.”
The Tigers, who had been scratching and clawing for runs the last three games, scored eight times off Astros’ right-hander Spencer Arrighetti in the second and third innings.
Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer, his 11th, James Outman hit his second, a three-run homer, and Colt Keith belted one off the foul pole in right, his fifth. Kevin McGonigle had his footprints on everything, with a single, two walks, two stolen bases and two runs.
“It was amazing,” manager AJ Hinch said. “It was a great night. But I can’t talk about tonight without talking about our two Venezuelan pitchers who went out and pitched with heavy hearts and both stepped up for our team. It means a lot to them how much support they are getting and yet they carried us tonight.”
The families of Montero and De Jesus, after some worrisome moments, are safe. Same for Gleyber Torres and for Guillen. But they all know people who have been impacted, either by loss of property or life.
“It’s not been easy the last couple of days,” Montero said. “Been tough to catch some sleep. I’ve tried to stay away from social media as much as I can. I was able to stay focused but my mind went out to Venezuela when I was playing.
“It’s not an easy thing, but we are strong, we are resilient and we’re going to come out of this.”
All the players, Venezuelan and otherwise, are giving as much as they can to various relief efforts. De Jesus said the Team Venezuela group chat from the WBC is still active and has been helpful in sharing news and keeping tabs on the situation.
“It’s real crazy,” said De Jesus, who pitched the final two innings. “You don’t really know how lucky we are just to be alive here. People back there, it was a holiday and then a few hours later when everything happened, you might be trapped under construction.
“It just made me think a lot about how lucky we are to be alive and wake up every single day.”
Montero, who has been a rock in the Tigers’ rotation, didn’t allow a runner in scoring position until the sixth inning. He effectively kept the Astros off the barrel with a clever mix of knuckle-curveballs, sliders and changeups off his sinker and four-seam fastball.
He got nine ground-ball outs, including two double-plays. The Astros put 22 balls in play with a soft average exit velocity of 83.1 mph.
“I was focused on trying to do something positive today,” he said. “Venezuelans, we are resilient and we are strong. And God help us be even more resilient and stronger every day. It hasn’t been easy. This one tonight is for them, for our country.”
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers’ Keider Montero, pitching with a heavy heart, blanks Astros
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Chris McCosky, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
