AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS VS GUARDIANS

October 10, 2024

David Fry

Comerica Park

Cleveland Guardians

Postgame 4 Press Conference

Cleveland - 5, Detroit - 4

Q. David, just how good does it feel to extend the season and live to fight another day, get a game at home, Game 5?

DAVID FRY: Yeah. Awesome. Obviously backs against the wall. Goal today was to try to get the series back to Cleveland and hopefully get to win Game 5 in front of the fans.

Q. David, to have the pinch hit is huge, but just go through the conversation about getting down the safety squeeze there and just the thought process.

DAVID FRY: Yeah. Vogt kind of came up to me and was like, hey, how confident are you in getting the bunt down? And I told him I wasn't a very good hitter in high school, so I'm pretty confident; I had to bunt a lot. He goes, all right. Just keep an eye on Rougy for signs. And then right before I went up, he said, go ahead and do it first pitch, and luckily I got the run in.

Q. David, you had been 0-3 with three strikeouts against Beau Brieske. What gave you the confidence to go in there and attack him in that at-bat?

DAVID FRY: I didn't know that stat. I knew I struck out against him, but I didn't know it was 0-3 punch. That's really good. No, I was just trying to get a pitch to hit, and luckily fought off some pitches with two strikes and was able to barrel something up.

Q. Not to minimize, but obviously this was kind of one of those things where you dream of as a kid to go into another park and silence the crowd. Can you just kind of put us through that moment of what it was like to hit that and the emotion you felt as you rounded the bases there?

DAVID FRY: Like you said, you dream about it as a kid and think about it all the time, and in the off-season when you're working on stuff, and then it happens and it goes by real quick. I remember looking at the dugout and high-fiving Sandy, and then just black out, and then you're in the dugout and cheering with the boys. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

Q. David, to see Jose Ramirez homer and Clase bounce back the way he did after Game 2, how important was that not just for this game, but for you guys moving forward?

DAVID FRY: Yeah, it's huge. Jose is obviously our leader, and I don't want to take all the credit, but I did tell Hog (Austin Hedges) before he came up that he was going to hit a homer that at-bat, so I will take all the credit.

Yeah, but Jose is the man, and he kind of got us going. He's not the most emotional guy, but to see him get fired up after that homer kind of got the boys going. And then get the ball to Clase, he's done it all year, or our bullpen has done it all year they pick us up and he was awesome.

Q. David, you've known from the get-go that if you go to Game 5, you're going to see Skubal again. Obviously the talent that he brings and the success he had the other day, but the fact that you guys just saw him, how can that maybe help you guys, just the fresh looks that are right there in the rearview mirror?

DAVID FRY: Yeah. I think we've seen him three or four times now this year, and I think we'll have a pretty good game plan to go against him. He's had a heck of a season. He's been really good and threw well the other day. And we're going to have to be ready to go, but it'll be a fun one, and Cleveland will be loud.

Q. Does it make it any easier that you just faced him?

DAVID FRY: Yeah. I think there's two sides. Like as a pitcher you could say it's easier facing a lineup that you just saw, you know how the hitters are going to attack you, and vice versa. We've played these guys so much this season, and it's been I think neck and neck the entire season with the season series. It'll be a good ballgame on Saturday.

Q. David, that was the first go-ahead pinch-hit home run in franchise postseason history. No. Second. It was the second go-ahead. It was the first one to give you the lead. So just where you've been this season, injury, All-Star, just what does it mean to be able to write your name in the books there and really have that moment for yourself?

DAVID FRY: Yeah, pretty cool. I think even bigger than anything else was just boys' backs against the wall. Got a must-win game and able to get our team the lead.

And obviously with our bullpen, we feel really good once we get the lead. And just a really fun moment. When Kwan gets it going, and he's been so good this series. He's been on base feels like all the time. And had a couple chances yesterday to drive him in. Didn't get it done. So felt really good getting it done today.