In an ugly inning for the Detroit Tigers against the Cleveland Guardians, the worst moment came on the fourth pitch to David Fry.
With no outs and a 2-1 count against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, the Guardians designated hitter squared up to bunt over a runner on second. Unfortunately, the 99.1 mph fastball traveled way up and in and hit Fry on the nose after glancing off his bat.
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Yahoo Sports is not including the video in this article, but Fry takes the impact and immediately falls to the ground clutching his nose. No one was more horrified than Skubal, who seemed shaken for the rest of the inning:
Fry received attention from trainers on the ground, but felt good enough to give a thumbs up to the Progressive Field crowd. He was later loaded onto a cart and taken off the field, with George Valera entering the game and taking over the at-bat. The pitch was scored as a foul bunt.
At the end of the game, Fry was announced to be receiving treatment at Cleveland’s Lutheran Medical Center.
Among his well-wishers was Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell.
Fry’s injury was only part of a memorably awful inning for the Tigers, who had a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning.
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By the end of the sixth inning, the Guardians had a 3-2 lead despite only one ball reaching the outfield. It did so because the best pitcher in baseball threw it there, snapping it between his legs in an ill-advised attempt to throw out the runner at first.
The Guardians did not relinquish that lead in a 3-2 win, tying them with the Tigers atop the AL Central and clinching the season tiebreaker.
On July 8, Cleveland was 15.5 games back from first place. On Sept. 4, they were still 11 games back. Now, with five games to play, they control their own destiny, and will have completed the biggest comeback in the history of MLB if they finish the job.
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