Alex Vesia, the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever, had an emotional night in Toronto. It was a rematch of a World Series he never got to pitch in. Vesia acknowledged his wife, Kayla, who was watching from the family section.
A Difficult Time
The past two days had been hard for Vesia. The trip remains a process for the couple after the death of their newborn daughter, Sterling Sol Vesia, on Oct. 26. Vesia had called watching the series from home “a light in our darkness.”
Vesia took the mound for the first time since that day. He extinguished the Toronto Blue Jays’ best offensive threat in the seventh inning of a 4-1 win. Vesia wore a glove that had Sterling Sol’s name and birthday stitched into it.
“That was awesome,” Vesia said of the experience. “The adrenaline, the crowd, I feed off that.”
High-Pressure Situation
The Dodgers missed Vesia in October. They and the Blue Jays wore his No. 51 on the side of their caps during the World Series. They did so to acknowledge what he was going through.
Vesia inherited a mess during the game. Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s solid performance stalled in the seventh inning. A leadoff double and a bunt single put runners on the corners and nobody out in a 3-1 game. Vesia then walked a pinch hitter to load the bases.
The Rogers Centre crowd rose to a roar for the first time in the series.
No Panic
“I think the thing is, what’s great about Alex is, there’s just no panic,” manager Dave Roberts said.
The bullpen’s progress has made things easier on Roberts. It also freed him up to use Vesia in the game’s hottest spots. Roberts acknowledged that this clearly meant something to Vesia.
The left-hander has carved out a living in the majors with a fastball. It moves more than anyone else’s despite lacking high-end velocity. It’s made him one of the most effective relievers in the sport since he arrived in Los Angeles.
Vesia kept his eyes on Kayla as he completed his night’s work.