Cleveland Guardians hitter David Fry taken to hospital after being struck in face by 99 mph pitch

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — Cleveland Guardians hitter David Fry was taken to hospital on Tuesday after being struck in the face by a pitch during his team’s win against the Detroit Tigers.

The worrying incident occurred in the sixth inning, when Fry tried to bunt a 99 mph fastball from Detroit’s Tarik Skubal.

The ball missed the bat completely and hit Fry straight in the face. The 29-year-old fell to the floor instantly with his hands on his face, before being attended to by medics on the field.

Fry, though, was later able to stand up and walk to a cart before being taken to a nearby hospital.

“He’s getting tested. He’s stayed conscious the whole time,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told reporters after the game Tuesday. “Definitely some injuries there. So I’ll give you an update tomorrow.”

Guardians reporter Tim Stebbins said on X that Fry was initially taken to the Lutheran Medical Center before being transferred to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus for observation which would likely see him stay overnight. The reporting was shared by the Guardians official channel on X.

Scary moment

Like many others inside the stadium, Detroit’s Skubal looked shaken by the incident, pacing around the field as Fry was receiving treatment.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Skubal said watching Fry go down was “really tough.”

“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,” he said, per Associated Press.

“Obviously, he seemed like he was OK coming off the field and hopefully it stays that way. I know sometimes with those things that can change. So hopefully he’s all right.

“I look forward to hopefully at some point tonight or (Wednesday) morning getting a text from him and making sure he’s all good because there’s things that are bigger than the game and the health of him is more important than a baseball game.”

Skubal, who is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, struggled to regain composure after the incident, making a string of mistakes.

After the game restarted, he threw a wild pitch to Fry’s replacement George Valera, before making another blunder when trying to throw the ball to first between his legs. He then was called for a balk in the sixth inning as the Guardians got back into the game.

The Guardians eventually went on to win 5-2.

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