Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic ? Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez said Wednesday that he didn’t know whether he would be ready to play in the World Series once he returns to the U.S. following his father’s funeral in the Dominican Republic.

Volquez said he was in a lot of pain as his eyes welled with tears while he attended his father’s memorial service a day before the funeral.

“Losing a loved one is hard,” he said. “My father was everything to me, and he supported me in everything throughout my career. We won the game, but I would have changed that if it meant he could still be alive.”

His father, 63-year-old Daniel Volquez, died of heart failure just before the right-hander started Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Mets on Tuesday night. Volquez said he learned about his father’s death when he stepped off the mound after allowing three runs over six innings.

“My wife was waiting for me with the general manager and they told me what had happened after I finished working,” he said. “I want to thank my teammates for all their support, to (Johnny) Cueto and Yordano (Ventura), who were the first ones to call me.”

Volquez said he would return to the U.S. on Friday or Saturday. “But I don’t know if I’ll be ready for that appearance,” he said.

The Royals were hopeful that Volquez would rejoin them when they head to New York later in the week.

“Last thing Eddie told the guys last night when he left is, ‘I’ll see you in New York,'” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said before Game 2 Wednesday night.

“I expect Eddie to be there and ready to go for Game 5,” he said.

The Royals and Mets have a day off today. Game 3 is set for Friday night at Citi Field.

It was the elder Volquez who introduced his son to the game, buying his son his first glove — a Pedro Martinez model.

“I can definitely understand what he’s going through right now,” said Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas, whose mother, Connie, died of cancer in August. “When someone loses a family member, that takes priority over everything that happens. Baseball is baseball, but family, things that happen like that — that’s something that is more important than baseball.”