Dodgers' Eliézer Alfonzo makes MLB debut with sister, stepmother still missing in Venezuela quakes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Catcher Eliézer Alfonzo made his major league debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday with his sister and stepmother still missing after Venezuela’s catastrophic earthquakes.
The 26-year-old Alfonzo batted ninth and caught Emmet Sheehan in the Dodgers’ home game against the San Diego Padres.
Alfonzo’s 16-year-old sister, Eliana, and his stepmother, Patricia, have been missing since multiple earthquakes hit his homeland on June 24. Several Latin American media outlets reported Sunday that their bodies had been found in the wreckage of the hotel in La Guaira where they were staying, but the Dodgers announced no confirmation of the reports.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he hadn’t yet spoken to Alfonzo about two hours before the first pitch at Dodger Stadium.
“Don’t really know what to say about it, outside of my heart goes out to him and his family,” Roberts said. “So he is in there. I think he’s going to play today, but obviously it’s — a heavy heart is not even justifying. I don’t want to really go too far, because I’ll get emotional. So I don’t know. Yeah, I know it’s tough. Very tough.”
After appearing in 581 minor league games over the past nine seasons, the Dodgers recalled Alfonzo on Saturday for his first major league opportunity.
Alfonzo spent nearly a decade in the Detroit Tigers’ system, progressing as far as their Triple-A affiliate in Toledo last year. He signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers last November, and he was batting .313 with 17 RBIs for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.
Veteran Dodgers starter Will Smith has been sidelined for nearly a month with a neck injury. Dalton Rushing took over behind the plate with veteran Chuckie Robinson as his backup, but the Dodgers decided to give a chance to Alfonzo this weekend.
Alfonzo’s father, Eliézer Alfonzo Sr., spent parts of six seasons in the majors as a catcher for four teams from 2006-11. He also spent a year in the Dodgers’ minor league system.
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