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What was shaping up as a tense AL Central showdown between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians took a frightening turn Tuesday night when Guardians slugger David Fry suffered a bloody injury on a foul tip off a pitch from Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.
Scary Moment in Cleveland
In the bottom of the sixth inning, with Detroit holding a 2-1 lead and runners on the corners, Fry squared to bunt against a 99 mph Skubal fastball. He fouled the pitch straight into his face, immediately crumpling to the ground and covering his nose.
Blood was visible as Cleveland’s medical staff rushed out. Fry stood briefly but was ultimately helped off the field, replaced by pinch-hitter George Valera. Progressive Field went quiet as both teams absorbed the scary moment.
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
Chaos for Skubal and the Tigers
Even though Fry was struck, the ball hit his bat first, so the play was ruled a strike, moving the count to 2-2. But Skubal’s rhythm clearly took a hit after witnessing the injury.
- His very next pitch skipped past the catcher, allowing the tying run to score and moving José Ramírez to second.
- A balk advanced Ramírez to third.
- Moments later, a groundout brought him home, giving Cleveland a 3-2 lead heading into the seventh.
What started as a 2-0 Tigers advantage turned into a meltdown inning.
Series Stakes Are Huge
The timing couldn’t be worse for Detroit. With just six games left in the regular season, the Tigers entered the night clinging to a one-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. This three-game set at Progressive Field is essentially a division-deciding series, and every pitch has outsized importance.
Detroit will now have to regroup quickly, both emotionally from Fry’s frightening injury and competitively as Cleveland seized momentum late in the game.
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Don Drysdale
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