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For perhaps the first time in 2026, Alex Vesia felt normal Friday night.
The Los Angeles Dodger pitcher returned to the mound for his first Major League outing since his infant daughter died just five days after she was born.
Before the World Series, the lefty left the team to deal with a “deep personal matter” and sat out the Fall Classic.
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Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Days after the Dodgers won the World Series, he and his wife announced their infant daughter he was dead.
Vesia returned to the team during spring training and entered the Dodgers’ game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the seventh inning of a 4-4 tie.
It was quite a stretch for Vesia to come back, but given his 2.36 ERA over the past two seasons, it was no sweat. He stranded a runner at second base and kept the D-Backs scoreless en route to a 5-4 victory over their division rival.
Vesia hissed and pointed toward the Dodgers side of the family as he roared through the crowd.
Vesia wore a custom-made pink glove with his daughter’s name, Sterling Sol, on it, along with her birthday and his wife’s first initial, K for Kayla, emblazoned on the ring finger of the glove.
Alex Vesia of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks the Arizona Diamondbacks during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on March 27, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
DODGER PITCHER’S WIFE LIVES ‘BITTER’ OPENING DAY MONTHS AFTER DEATH OF BABY DAUGHTER.
“All I would give is to have my girl Sterling here, she’s always in my heart,” Kayla said in an Instagram post earlier this week celebrating the “sweet-sweet” opening day.
Sterling passed between Game 2 and Game 3 when the series was tied at one game apiece. During the Fall Classic, relievers from Toronto Blue Jays wrote the jersey number of Vesia, 51, on their hats.
In his first news conference of the year in spring training, Vesia called his wife “the strongest person I know” and “a constant support system as I work for her.”
“Life can change in an instant. For us, 10 minutes is all it took,” Vesia said in February. “Sterling Sol was the most beautiful girl in the world. We got to hold her, change her diaper, teach her and love her. Our time together was too short. Kay and I will keep those precious moments and memories with us.
“Leaving the team, the brothers I go to war with every day was difficult, but it was also an easy decision because my family needed me. We were still watching all the World Series games, and for us in many ways, that was a light in our darkness.
Alex Vesia of the Los Angeles Dodgers thanks the crowd during the 2025 World Series Championship Ringing Ceremony before the game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Photos by Jessie Alcheh/MLB via Getty Images)
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“I wasn’t serious about not bringing my baby girl home, but we walk with her every day. It’s been hard, but we’re doing well.”
The World Series champions are trailing 2-0 to start the MLB season.
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