Perhaps for the first time in 2026, Alex Vesia felt some normalcy on Friday night.
The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher made his return to the pitcher's mound in his first Major League outing since his infant daughter died just five days after she was born.
Before the World Series, the left-hander left the team to deal with a "deeply personal matter" and did not pitch in the Fall Classic.
"What I would give to have my Sterling girl here, carrying her in my heart always," Kayla said in an Instagram post earlier this week to celebrate a "bitter-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 the Toronto Blue Jays wrote Vesia's jersey number, 51, on their hats.
In his first news conference of the year in spring training, Vesia called his wife "the strongest person that I know" and "a support system for me every bit as much as I am 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, read to her and love her. Our time together was far too short. Kay and I will keep those precious moments and memories to ourselves.
"Stepping away from the team, the brothers that I go to war with every day, was difficult, but it was also an easy decision because my family needed me. We still watched every pitch of the World Series, and for us in so many ways, that was a light in our darkness.
"I was not prepared to not bring my baby girl home, but we're carrying her with us every day. It's been hard, but we're doing OK."
The back-to-back reigning World Series champions are 2-0 to start the MLB season.
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