In the middle of a pennant race, and in the middle of a game-changing inning Tuesday, the Cleveland Guardians endured a horrific injury against the Detroit Tigers.
During the sixth inning, with runners at first and second and no one out, Guardians designated hitter David Fry squared to bunt on a 2-2 pitch from Tigers starter Tarik Skubal. The ball missed Fry’s bat entirely and struck him in the face. Fry immediately held his face and went to the ground.
A deafening silence fell over the crowd, which had just waken up when the Guardians scored their first run of the game one batter earlier. Seemingly distraught, Skubal threw his glove, turned away and tossed his hat. Jose Ramirez, Fry’s teammate who was on first base, put his hands on his head in obvious concern.
Fry was eventually able to stand on his own, but he was carted off the field to a rousing ovaction from the Cleveland crowd. Skubal, along with the entire Tigers infield, clapped, and Fry acknowledge his teammates in the third-base dugout with a wave.
The Guardians went on to score two more runs off Skubal and win the series opener 5-2.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said after the game that Fry took the pitch ‘straight to the face,’ but that he never lost consciousness.’ Vogt said Fry will have some testing done and there would be an update on his condition Wednesday.