Fry saves Guards' season with pinch HR, clutch bunt to force Game 5

DETROIT -- David Fry turned to his dugout and saw his teammates leaping over the railings, throwing their equipment in the air and jumping up and down in sheer joy. He slapped first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr.’s hand, stepped on first and then everything went black.

Fry had just experienced the biggest moment of his career. Cleveland was down to its final seven outs before its season would have ended when he launched a two-run, pinch-hit homer off Tigers reliever Beau Brieske that gave the Guardians the lead. Then in the ninth, he laid down the decisive safety squeeze that handed Cleveland a 5-4 victory over the Tigers in Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Thursday at Comerica Park.

“You dream about it as a kid and think about it all the time, and in the offseason when you're working on stuff,” Fry said, “and then it happens, and it goes by real quick.”

In all best-of-five postseason series, teams that have won Game 4 when trailing 2-1 have then won Game 5 and the series 27 of 48 times (56%). Heading into Game 5, teams are only 62-66 all-time in the postseason when playing a winner-take-all game in their home ballpark. That includes the Brewers’ loss to the Mets in Game 3 of this year’s NL Wild Card Series.

This was the first time the Guardians won a potential elimination game since Game 6 of the 1997 World Series, snapping a postseason record of 11 consecutive losses when facing elimination. It was also the first go-ahead pinch-hit homer in Cleveland postseason history. And now, the Guardians have a chance to move on to face the Yankees in the AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 5 of the ALDS on Saturday at Progressive Field.

It’s only fitting that this would be the Cleveland team to snap the streak. This is a group that’s been fueled by doubt since the start of Spring Training. And it just makes sense that Fry did it in a way that encapsulated everything about the Guardians’ 2024 season.

Manager Stephen Vogt explained it perfectly before the game when he huddled his team up and reminded them that they had gotten to this point by leaning on each other, passing the baton to the next guy and never needing just one person to be the big hero.

• J-Ram, Clase roar back at Tigers in dominant Game 4 display

Fry has never tried to be the hero. He was the player to be named in a November 2021 trade that sent J.C. Mejía to Milwaukee. He was a backup catcher/utility guy who might not have had a spot on the Opening Day roster if it weren't for his defensive versatility. Fry wasn’t supposed to be an everyday player, but during the first half of the season, he forced the Guardians to play him against righties and lefties because his bat was so hot. It led him to be one of the most unexpected All-Stars on the American League roster.

“Obviously, this is his coming out party as a player,” catcher Austin Hedges said.

Fry might have struggled in the second half of the season, but the Guardians knew the weapon they had on the bench. They just needed the perfect time to use it. And on the heels of a night when Vogt’s aggressive style left him handcuffed in the later innings, he got the perfect at-bat out of Fry at the perfect time.

“We wanted to get the right-on-right matchup,” Vogt said, “and David Fry is one of the best baseball players in this league.”

Only four players in AL/NL history have hit a pinch-hit go-ahead homer in the postseason when their team was trailing in the seventh inning or later: Fry, Eric Hinske, Ed Sprague and Kirk Gibson.

This has been a theme all season for the Guardians, who led the AL with 42 comeback victories. Fry's homer gave Cleveland a one-run lead, but the Guardians knew they’d need more to force Game 5. So, with Fry due up in the ninth and a runner on third, Vogt asked him if he’d be comfortable executing a safety squeeze.

“I told him I wasn't a very good hitter in high school, so I'm pretty confident; I had to bunt a lot,” Fry joked.

Fry laid down a perfect bunt, and Brayan Rocchio made an excellent dive into home plate that gave Cleveland some breathing room, so when the Tigers pushed a run across in the ninth, it didn’t matter.

When their backs are against the wall, the Guardians have shifted into another gear. When they’re trailing late in the game, they never doubt themselves. When they can’t get the big hit, they turn to Guards Ball.

Fry proved exactly why their style of play has gotten them this far and will keep them in contention as long as they stick to the script.

“He means the world to us,” Hedges said, “and a big reason why we're here right now is because of David Fry.”