From the rough streets of Santa Ana to the World Series, Chris Devenski has come a long way to find success

Reporting from Houston —  He moves with a sway or a strut more than a walk. Chest out, arms swinging, Chris Devenski leaves the mound like the next pitcher to take it is his tenant.

It could be described as Vince McMahon mimicry, or the posture of a fervent man following a simple plan.

“That’s the way my body feels like moving, and there I go,” said Devenski, who got the win in relief for the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the World Series and threw a scoreless inning Saturday in Game 4. “It’s like a sense of urgency to get from Point A to Point B with a purpose.”

Devenski, 26, took an atypical path to his place as a mainstay in the Astros bullpen. He first attracted attention as a senior at Cerritos Gahr High, in the spring of 2008. One National League scout who has followed him since said Devenski walks the way he does because his intestinal fortitude is stronger than any other big league pitcher.

“The swagger we have is unbelievable,” acknowledged Mike Devenski Jr., his father. “It’s like you have so much confidence in what you’re doing that you’re overwhelmed by yourself.”

Since Devenski’s 2016 major-league debut, only one reliever has thrown more innings, and only four have better earned-run averages than his 2.14 mark: Kenley Jansen, Wade Davis, Zach Britton and Andrew Miller, some of the best in the game. Devenski made 25 multiple-inning appearances this season. As an emblem of changing big-league bullpen mores, he made the All-Star team.

But despite last Wednesday’s win over the Dodgers, this month has tried his confidence. In his first postseason, he has performed poorly overall. And Astros manager A.J. Hinch has hesitated to use him in high-leverage situations where he once would.

“The way I’ve performed, stepping on the field and feeling the way I have on this stage, I’ve never felt like this before,” Devenski said. “I haven’t been able to adjust to it as quickly as I have other things in my life. But that’s where the learning comes from, and the growth.”

He continued: “I think I’m past it now. It’s a learning experience. Where I was at mentally from it, it’s kind of brought me a new mindset, which is good. The past is the past. We’re right here in the moment. The future’s bright.”

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Mike Devenski runs a moving company, M&M Moving and Storage, in Artesia. He has been in the business more than four decades and was working Thursday before flying to Houston for this weekend’s games. When he’s not moving someone, he collects spare parts and repurposes them. For that, he’s known as Dr. Junk.

For years, Chris joined him, traversing Southern California to meet clients. “Every weekend, for sure, we’d be doing something,” Mike said.

One offseason, they worked at Freddie Freeman’s childhood home. Devenski noticed a picture of the Atlanta Braves star on the mantle; Freeman happened to be upstairs.

During most of Devenski’s childhood, the family resided in what Mike described as a “rough neighborhood” in Santa Ana. Crime was unavoidable, the gang temptation clear.

“You get to a certain age, you have to make a decision, what you want to do,” Mike Devenski said. “You can either go to school or stay with the kids.”

When Chris was a freshman at Golden West College, before he transferred to Cal State Fullerton, he didn’t show up for his preseason physical. Coaches called his parents, who called him. For hours, he was nowhere to be found.

“I had to call the police,” Mike said. After a gang-prevention unit located his son, Mike made a choice. He moved the family to more suburban Artesia, where they still reside. Chris refocused on baseball and executed a steady climb.

Astros closer Ken Giles is Devenski’s throwing partner. Two months apart in age, they train together in the offseason, spend untold hours together in the clubhouse, dugout and bullpen, and share intimate stories about their upbringings. Sometime last year, Devenski mentioned to Giles his gang temptations.

“That’s not an easy thing, where he almost went down that path,” Giles said. “For someone to be so strong to be able to say, ‘I’m gonna turn my back and go the other route,’ it’s hard to do that.”

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Before Game 2 of the Series last week, Hinch said the Astros could not win without Devenski returning to top form.

“My confidence hasn’t wavered,” Hinch said. “I’ll put him in the game in the most important spots, because of the weapons, the demeanor he has, the confidence that our team has.”

Hinch’s recent actions said differently, but that night Devenski entered a tied game with two out in the 10th inning and the Dodgers’ winning run at second base. Before he threw a pitch, he wheeled around and fired a wild pickoff in the general direction of second base that was headed toward left-center field when it happened to drill umpire Laz Diaz and stay in the infield.

On the mound, Devenski leaned back, breathed in, blew a big bubble, and regrouped. An inning later, he finished the Astros’ first World Series victory.

Mike and Shirley Devenski watched alongside Chris’ twin sister, Amanda, who teaches at Math and Science College Prep in Mid-City, six miles from Dodger Stadium. Mike called his son’s World Series appearances his life’s biggest thrills.

No matter his role in the Astros’ remaining games, Chris remains focused on the next Point B. There will always be one.

“I’ve been overlooked my whole life,” he said. “I’ve been doubted here, I’ve been doubted there, but I’ve always believed in myself and my team. There’s not a day I don’t go out there and try to give all the effort I have within me and everything that I come from.”

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