Kristofak overcomes tragedy, makes MLB debut

ANAHEIM -- Some things are bigger than baseball.

But Angels right-hander Zac Kristofak knows how the power of baseball can heal. He's used it as his platform since going through an unthinkable tragedy in 2012, when his father murdered his mother outside Atlanta when he was only 15 years old. Kristofak made an emotional Major League debut on Sunday after having his contract selected from Triple-A Salt Lake, allowing two unearned runs over two innings in relief in an 11-5 loss to the Twins at Angel Stadium.

Kristofak believes it's his mission to inspire others who have endured adversity and personal tragedy. He reached his lifelong goal of making the Majors despite what he's dealt with over the past 12 years.

"I'm here to help people," Kristofak said. "I'm here to help people 100 percent and baseball is my platform. Yeah, it's cool I get to put on this uniform, but man, if I can help somebody, that's a big part."

A 14th-round selection by the Angels out of the University of Georgia in 2019, Kristofak earned the promotion after a strong start to the year with Triple-A Salt Lake. The 5-foot-9, 189-pounder posted a 3.38 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings and has a reputation as a strike-thrower.

The 26-year-old was scheduled to start against Triple-A Round Rock in Texas on Sunday but got the call from Bees manager Keith Johnson late Saturday night that he would be headed to the big leagues for the first time because of the Angels' depleted bullpen. His older brother, Harrison, was his first phone call but they didn't connect until he eventually got a call from him while waiting in line for security at the airport in Austin, Texas.

"He called me back and I had to hold up the TSA line because I was going through security," Kristofak said with a laugh. "But we talked and it was great. But he had about as few words as I did. There wasn't a whole lot of words. A lot of silence. But we got the message across."

Kristofak arrived early Sunday and said he got about two hours of sleep ahead of making his MLB debut. He was pressed into action on his first day in the Majors, as lefty Reid Detmers allowed five runs over five innings and reliever Luis García gave up four runs in the seventh.

He came into the game with the Angels trailing by four runs and got Austin Martin to hit a routine grounder to second, but Brandon Drury booted it for an error. It was a "Welcome to the big leagues" moment for Kristofak, who saw Martin steal second and reach third on a passed ball from catcher Logan O'Hoppe.

He gave up an unearned run on a Ryan Jeffers sacrifice fly before surrendering a single to Byron Buxton, who promptly stole second. But he struck out Alex Kirilloff on a 1-2 fastball for his first career punchout -- and kept the ball as a keepsake -- before giving up an RBI double to Jose Miranda and getting Carlos Santana to ground out to end the inning.

"I thought he did a tremendous job," Angels manager Ron Washington said. "He flew all night and came in here and threw two innings. In his first inning, we could've had three outs, but we booted the ball."

Kristofak loaded the bases with one out in the ninth but got out of the jam with a double play after a mound visit from pitching coach Barry Enright. He said there were plenty of positives to take away from his outing and it still felt surreal after the game.

"It was unbelievable," Kristofak said. "I had a lot of friends and family here. It's something I've dreamt about my whole life. It's been quite emotional and a roller coaster with a lot of ups and downs. But I proved today that I can do this. It's really cool."

His final line was allowing two unearned runs on three hits and two walks but most importantly, he can now say he's officially pitched in a big league game despite all the adversity that has come his way.

"It's just crazy, like looking back on my story, not only in baseball, but just in my life," Kristofak said. "And this is just not only important for me, but for my family, for my friends, for my community and for everybody that I represent back home."