Opening Day in Major League Baseball is time for fresh starts and new beginnings, but one loss still weighs heavily on the Vesia family.
Kayla Vesia, the wife of Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia, posted on Instagram that the team’s first game of the 2026 on Thursday was “bittersweet” for the couple, who lost their infant daughter last fall days before the team won the World Series.
“A very bitter sweet opening day,” she wrote alongside a picture of herself.
“What I would give to have my Sterling girl here, carrying her in my heart always.”
Kayla also shared several snaps from Dodger Stadium on her Instagram Stories, including one of Alex on the field for the team’s introductions.
Above Vesia in the team’s lineup was a caption that read: “You make us so proud.”
Vesia missed World Series
Ahead of last October’s World Series, the Dodgers said Vesia — who had been a key relief pitcher for the Dodgers throughout the season — would not be on the roster against the Toronto Blue Jays, citing a “deeply personal family matter.”
Days after the series had concluded with the Dodgers defeating the Jays in Game 7, Kayla and Alex made the heartbreaking announcement that their “beautiful daughter went to heaven.”
“There are no words to describe the pain we’re going through but we hold her in our hearts and cherish every second we had with her,” the couple captioned a shared post on social media at the time. “Thank you to the Dodgers for their understanding and support during this time. Our baseball family showed up for us and we wouldn’t be able to do this without them.”
During the World Series, pitchers from both the Dodgers and Blue Jays wrote Vesia’s No. 51 on their hats in a show of support.
How did the Dodgers fare in the opener?
The two-time reigning World Series champions got their title defence off to a good start.
After falling behind 2-0 to the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth inning, the Dodgers bounced back to score eight unanswered runs to score the big victory.
World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched six innings, giving up five hits and two runs while earning the win.
Superstar off-season addition Kyle Tucker got his first hit and RBI for the Dodgers, while Will Smith and Andy Pages both homered.
Vesia wasn’t called upon from the bullpen in the game.