Guardians' David Fry sustains broken nose, facial fractures after being hit in face by 99 mph pitch

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Guardians designated hitter David Fry sustained a broken nose and facial fractures after he was hit in the face by a pitch from Detroit’s Tarik Skubal in the sixth inning of Cleveland’s 5-2 win over the Tigers, a victory that deadlocked the AL Central division race.

“He is doing OK, he’s in good spirits,” manager Stephen Vogt said by phone Wednesday morning. “He’s upright, he’s alert.”

Vogt visited Fry in the hospital. The team said Fry was discharged from the Cleveland Clinic on Wednesday afternoon and is resting comfortably.

This is what 99mph to the face looks like after a failed bunt attempt pic.twitter.com/qtBRPnlKTy

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The Guardians said imaging and clinical examination showed Fry sustained multiple, minimally displaced, left-sided facial and nasal fractures. A timeline for recovery is 6-8 weeks without the need for surgery.

Fry was placed on the 10-day injured list before Wednesday’s game. Outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez was called up from Triple-A Columbus.

Fry squared around to try to bunt a 99 mph fastball from Skubal on Tuesday night and the pitch struck him in the nose and mouth area. As Fry collapsed in the batter’s box and immediately grabbed his bloodied face, a visibly shaken Skubal threw off his glove and cap as Vogt and trainers rushed onto the field.

David Fry exited the game after being hit in the face by a pitch.

He was able to walk under his own power and was carted off the field. pic.twitter.com/IrFO20gBbR

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Fry laid in the dirt for several minutes before being slowly helped to his feet. He gave a thumbs-up signal as he sat up and was driven off in a cart.

The Guardians said Fry was being transported from Lutheran Medical Center to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus for further testing and observation.

“It was straight to the face,” Vogt said, describing the impact on Fry that shook everyone inside Progressive Field. “We’re all thinking about David and his family right now. Obviously, we’re glad he is OK, but obviously it’s a really scary moment.”

Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, paced around the infield as Fry was being assisted. Following the game, Skubal, who allowed just two hits through the first five innings, said seeing Fry in distress was difficult.

“Really tough,” the left-hander said. “I’ve already reached out to him. I’m sure his phone is blowing up. I just want to make sure he’s all right. Obviously, he seemed like he was OK coming off the field and hopefully it stays that way.

“I know sometimes with those things that can change. So hopefully he’s all right. I look forward to hopefully at some point tonight or (Wednesday) morning getting a text from him and making sure he’s all good because there’s things that are bigger than the game and the health of him is more important than a baseball game.”

That’s how Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan felt after watching Fry, an All-Star in 2024 who underwent offseason elbow surgery and didn’t join the team until late May, go down.

“Definitely really scary,” Kwan said. “For David to even try something like that (bunt), that’s just who he is. Selfless kind of guy, and especially in a position like that, he’s a tough guy. Thankfully he had some humor when he came up, but you don’t want to see a guy that’s been with you pretty much the whole year.

“Obviously energy-wise, just who he is as a teammate, he’s meant so much to us as a team. It’s really scary, but thankfully he had some humor coming off the field, so hopefully we get some good news.”

Following the incident, Skubal threw a wild pitch to George Valera, who replaced Fry, allowing Cleveland to score. Skubal also had an error — he inexplicably tried to make a blind throw to first between his legs — and was also called for a balk in the sixth inning as the Guardians rallied for three runs to take a 3-2 lead without hitting a ball out of the infield.