OAKLAND -- Yusmeiro Petit had an incredibly tough decision to make on Saturday.

Away from the club for two days following the death of his father, Alberto, Petit was stuck in a holding pattern as he worked on arranging a flight to his hometown of Maracaibo, Venezuela, to be with his family. But travel issues complicated things to the point where he would not have been able to make it there in time for the funeral.

Once Saturday morning came, Petit decided to remain in the Bay Area and returned to the A’s clubhouse in advance of Saturday’s game against the Tigers.

“There was a lot of problems getting there and potentially getting back. He would have gone all over the place to get there,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “It probably would have taken two days to get there and two days to get back, and that’s without even staying there for a period of time.

“At the end of the day, he wanted to be here, and we supported whatever he wanted to do. He wants to be with his team.”

There was a moment of silence pregame at the Coliseum to honor Petit's father.

Petit wasn't available to speak with reporters on Saturday, but in an interview with A's Spanish radio broadcaster Manolo Hernandez, Petit said his father often told him, "Your job should always come first," which played into his decision to forgo the long trip to Venezuela.

With a heavy heart, Petit will chug along and be available out of the bullpen. He’s been one of Melvin’s more reliable arms, leading the Majors with 43 inherited runners stranded and posting a 2.82 ERA over 71 appearances. His presence is greatly needed Saturday after the A’s went through six relievers in what was essentially a quasi-doubleheader on Friday, which included three innings in the conclusion of a suspended game, followed by an 11-inning nightcap.

Liam Hendriks, Jake Diekman and J.B. Wendelken each pitched in both of Friday’s games, making all three likely unavailable Saturday.

“For September, we’re in a bit of a unique situation here, where we have quite a few guys down,” Melvin said. “The guys we have available today, physically, are going to get an opportunity. It’s just the way it is. We’re in a stretch of a lot of games in a row. You do the best you can with it.”

Right-hander Blake Treinen has not pitched since Tuesday, but he also remains unavailable with nagging back issues that have crept up over the past week.

“He felt better yesterday, but I don’t think we’re there yet,” Melvin said of Treinen. “We’re hoping to get him back as soon as we can, but we’re certainly not going to push it.”

Luzardo close?

Jesus Luzardo, Oakland’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline, impressed in an outing with Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday in the Pacific Coast League playoffs. The left-hander allowed one run over five innings while racking up seven strikeouts.

Finishing at 91 pitches, Luzardo’s arm is fully stretched out. It will be up to the front office to decide whether the A's want to call up the electric lefty at some point in September.

“He pitched well,” Melvin said. “I think the front office continues to talk about him. We’ll see in the coming days.”