Tarik Skubal is one of baseball’s very best pitchers, and he is apparently one of its classiest as well.
The Detroit Tigers ace lefty Skubal was on the mound Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians when Guardians designated hitter David Fry got injured in a scary scene. During the sixth inning at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, Fry attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt off a Skubal delivery. But the pitch, a 99-mph fastball, ran in and ended up hitting Fry in the face instead.
You can see the video of the frightening incident here.
Fry, the former All-Star, was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. According to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, Skubal paid a visit to Fry in the hospital on Tuesday night. Skubal reportedly rode with Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and took the trip 3.5 miles east to be with Fry at the hospital.
The reigning AL Cy Young winner Skubal drew universal praise online for the classy gesture. It was especially so considering that the Tigers and Guardians are locked in the middle of a heated divisional race right now (with the Tigers ultimately losing a hard-fought game on Tuesday to bring the two teams to a tie in the standings).
Cleveland has since provided another update on Fry, revealing Wednesday that the veteran suffered multiple injuries on the hit-by-pitch. As for Skubal, who took the loss during Tuesday’s game to boot, he made sure to go out of his way to personally check up on Fry after the terrifying incident.
