Tuesday marked the beginning of the most important series of the year for the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers.
The two sides met with just one game between them in the AL Central, with the Guardians looking to pull off an improbable division comeback. Reigning AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal got the ball for Detroit on Tuesday night. However, in the sixth inning, the game came to a halt as Guardians first baseman David Fry dealt with a scary injury.
Fry was hit in the face by a pitch from Skubal when he set himself up to bunt, trailing in a 2-1 game at the time. The Guardians then went on to claim a 5-2 win.
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Here’s the latest on Fry after being hit in the face by a pitch in Tigers vs. Guardians.
MORE: Tracking the AL Central race between Tigers, Guardians
David Fry hit in face by pitch in Guardians vs. Tigers
Skubal kept the Guardians’ bats quiet throughout most of his start, with Detroit taking a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth. But just as Cleveland was starting to get its bats going, it had a scare as Fry went to the ground.
The first baseman showed bunt on an 0-2 pitch from Skubal, trying to put the ball down to move a runner from first or potentially score a run. But Skubal’s 99 mph pitch went up-and-in, and it struck Fry right in his nose/mouth area.
Fry immediately put his hands over his face, falling to the ground before trainers came out to look at him. He walked over to the cart under his own power, and Skubal was visibly shaken by the incident.
Guardians’ David Fry had to be carted off the field after he tried to bunt and fouled the ball off of his face pic.twitter.com/50WZ7QUQdc
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 24, 2025
David Fry injury updates
Fry sustained a broken nose and facial fractures during his at-bat during Tuesday’s game, according to an Associated Press report.
The Guardians announced Wednesday that Fry suffered multiple “minimally-displaced” facial fractures and is expected to recover without surgery in 6-8 weeks. The injury will end his season, based on that timeline.
Fry was pulled from the Guardians-Tigers matchup after being hit in the face. He did walk away from the batter’s box under his own power, with trainers assistance him onto a cart.
Fry kept a towel over his face as he got onto the cart.
David Fry gets into the cart on his own accord, holding a towel against his face. George Valera will continue his at bat#GuardsBall x @WEWS https://t.co/gcjHw3PnnD pic.twitter.com/rn0EzPbWZP
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) September 24, 2025
After the game, the Guardians announced that Fry was undergoing further assessment at Lutheran Medical Center, before he was then transferred to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus for further testing and observation, according to MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins.Â
Skubal also said he had “already been in touch” with Fry after the game, per Tom Withers. Detroit’s ace texted Fry, according to Evan Woodberry.Â
“I’ve already reached out to him. I’m sure his phone’s blowing up. I just want to make sure he’s all right,” Skubal said. “He seemed okay coming off the field, and hopefully it stays that way.
“I look forward to, hopefully tonight or tomorrow morning, getting a text from him and making sure he’s all good. There are things that are bigger than the game, and his health is more important than a baseball game.”
On Wednesday, Skubal also told reporters that he had visited Fry in the hospital, with Guardians manager Stephen Vogt driving him there.Â
“I was going there just to make sure he was all right,” Skubal said, per the Detroit Free Press. “This is a game but we’re all humans. And (expletive) like that happens. That’s real-life stuff, not baseball game stuff. … His story is pretty cool. And unfortunately, through this circumstance, I’ll probably get to know him a little bit better, which might be a positive to bring out of this.”
This section will be updated.
