Guardians’ David Fry suffers facial fractures after being hit by 99 mph fastball

Fry was hit square in the face while trying to bunt the fastball from Skubal. 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 on to the field. Fry lay 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 before being taken to a local hospital for observation.

The Guardians said Fry was discharged on Wednesday afternoon and is resting comfortably. Imaging showed the 29-year-old sustained multiple facial and nasal fractures. A timeline for recovery is six to eight weeks and Fry will not need surgery. He was placed on the 10-day injured list before Wednesday’s game. Outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez was called up from Triple-A Columbus as a replacement.

After the game, Skubal 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.

After 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. The Guardians won the game 5-2, putting them into a tie for first place with the Tigers in the AL Central.