LOS ANGELES — Three pitches into his major league debut, Dodgers catcher Eliézer Alfonzo watched some baseball chaos erupt.
He hardly seemed affected. Alfonzo was dealing with so much more.
Playing under trying circumstances, Alfonzo was behind the plate for seven innings and took his first at-bat to a huge ovation in the third as the Dodgers ended up falling 5-2 to the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
The Padres ended their season-long eight-game losing streak after infield coach Ryan Goins and manager Craig Stammen were ejected during the opening at-bat, but the Dodgers still hold a 14-game lead over their Southern California rival in the National League West.
When Alfonzo was called up to the major leagues on Saturday it came amid news that his sister and stepmother remained missing after last month’s earthquake in the family’s native Venezuela. Reports surfaced earlier Sunday that both of his loved ones died in the rubble of a collapsed building.
Alfonzo still went through with his first game in the majors, which he had waited for through nine seasons and 581 games in the minor leagues.
By catching Emmet Sheehan’s first pitch, he officially followed in the footsteps of his father of the same name, who played in six major league seasons and was teammates with manager Dave Roberts from 2007-08 in San Francisco.
“This is a tough moment because three weeks ago, she had a dream, but she wasn’t going to tell me until the dream came true,” Alfonzo said of his sister. “I’m pretty sure the dream was something about this. I wish she was alive to watch me play in the big leagues. But I know she’s on God’s side now and she’s gonna protect me and she’s gonna enjoy every moment that I’m gonna have.”
Alfonzo was asked if he thought about not playing.
“No. When I spoke to my dad and my brother, I felt all their support,” Alfonzo said. “Also, all of my teammates, they made me feel good. I just wanted to go out there, give my best, for my sister so she could feel proud of me.”
Miguel Rojas, also a native of Venezuela, has a close relationship with the elder Alfonzo.
“If you ask any Venezuelan player, they will say that Eliézer Alfonso is one of the biggest motivators and the guy who always played the game with a lot of joy,” Rojas said. “That’s why this news today in the morning kind of hit me really hard, because I’ve been following really closely, trying to help the people without really saying much. But all the help that we can get and the prayers and everything is really appreciated by us players.”
While working through the eventful first inning, as the Padres staff expressed displeasure over a check-swing strike, Sheehan moved forward to allow one run over 4⅓ innings, while giving up three hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
With Kyle Hurt on the mound for the Dodgers in the seventh inning, Tatis beat out an infield single for a run and Manny Machado added a three-run home run for a 5-0 lead.
After a relentless offense led to 10 victories in their previous 12 games, the Dodgers were held without a hit through four innings against San Diego left-hander JP Sears. The first hit came on a Rojas single with two outs in the fifth inning.
They finally broke through in the seventh, getting RBI singles from Alex Freeland and Shohei Ohtani. Alfonzo’s day ended when Tommy Edman pinch hit for him in the seventh and struck out. Edman had been a late scratch with ankle soreness after he was hit by a pitch Saturday.
Ohtani was back in the leadoff spot as the designated hitter after he missed Saturday’s game with right biceps soreness.
With Will Smith out through the All-Star break, Alfonzo will get sporadic time behind the plate while backing up Dalton Rushing. When he does take the field again, the moment is not expected to be as emotional as it was Sunday.
“He realized a dream today,” Roberts said of his new catcher.
“Obviously, that was certainly on his heart all day, but he did a fantastic job of driving our pitching staff, compartmentalizing. I’m sure now, after today, it’s going to really hit him, and he will deal with his reality, which all of us feel for him and his father. It’s devastating.”
The cheer from the crowd put him at ease as he stepped to the plate for the first time.
“I felt very emotional and very happy when I heard my name announced when I took my first turn to bat, to feel the support from the fans,” he said. “It’s something I appreciated very much and something I’ll always keep in my heart.”
And as more at-bats come, he will continue to remember how his sister was his biggest fan.
“Every time I go to the batter’s box, I’ll be thinking about how she would yell from the stands, telling me to hit the ball hard,” Alfonzo said.