Cleveland Guardians designated hitter David Fry suffered ‘multiple, minimally displaced, left-sided facial and nasal fractures,’ after being hit in the face by a foul tip against the Tigers on Tuesday, the team announced in a statement Wednesday, Sept. 24.
The Guardians added that Fry is expected to recover fully over the next 6-8 weeks, and it is not expected that he will need surgery. Cleveland put Fry on the 10-day injured list and recalled outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez from Triple-A Columbus.
‘He’s a tough kid and we’re just super thankful that he’s home resting,’ Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told reporters before Wednesday’s game.
How did David Fry get injured?
During the sixth inning of Tuesday’s Guardians-Tigers game, with runners at first and second and no one out, Fry squared to bunt on a 2-2 pitch from Detroit ace Tarik Skubal. The ball grazed off Fry’s bat and struck him in the face. Fry immediately covered his his face and fell to the ground.
A deafening silence fell over the crowd, which had just woken up when the Guardians scored their first run of the game one batter earlier. A distraught Skubal threw his glove, turned away and tossed his hat aside. Jose Ramirez, Fry’s Cleveland teammate who was on first base, put his hands on his head in obvious concern.
Fry was taken from the game to Lutheran Medical Center and ended up at the Cleveland Clinic for testing and observation. He was released from the Cleveland Clinic and ‘is resting comfortably.’
‘It was straight to the face,’ Vogt said after the game, adding that Fry never lost consciousness. ‘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.’
Tarik Skubal visits David Fry
Skubal texted Fry after Tuesday’s game, saying ‘I just want to make sure he’s all right.’
Vogt ended up taking Skubal with him to visit Fry at the hospital. Skubal added that Fry texted back Wednesday and thanked him for coming to the hospital.
‘Obviously nothing intentional, but still apologize about the situation and it’s one of those freak baseball plays,’ Skubal said. ‘I mean, this is a game, but we’re all humans. … That’s real life stuff, not baseball game stuff.’