Fastball

Cleveland Guardians All-Star Joins Rare History with Series-Saving Blast

The Cleveland Guardians have forced a Game 5 in the American League Division Series thanks to a late home run in Game 4 by David Fry.

Brady Farkas

Cleveland Guardians first base David Fry (6) hits a two run home run in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers during game four of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Comerica Park on Oct 10.
Cleveland Guardians first base David Fry (6) hits a two run home run in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers during game four of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Comerica Park on Oct 10. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Thursday night to even up the American League Division Series at two games apiece.

There will be a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday night back at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

The Guardians trailed 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning in Game 4 but were able to rally and win thanks to a two-run home run from David Fry. That made it 4-3 Cleveland, who eventually added on to make it 5-3. Detroit closed the gap in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't tie the game.

Fry's blast joined a rare group in playoff history, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

pinch-hit, go-ahead HR while trailing in 7th or later, postseason history:

2024 ALDS G4 David Fry
2010 NLDS G3 Eric Hinske
1992 WS G2 Ed Sprague
1988 WS G1 Kirk Gibson

The 28-year-old Fry had a breakout year for Cleveland this season, hitting .263 with 14 homers and 51 RBI. He made the All-Star Game as well.

A two-year veteran, he has spent his entire career with Cleveland. He's got 18 home runs in the regular season - none of them bigger than the one he hit on Thursday.

Game 5 on Saturday will begin at 8:08 p.m. ET. As of this posting, the Guardians have not named a starting pitcher for that contest. We know that the Tigers will go with American League Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal, who helped them win Game 2 of the series already.

The winner of this series will meet the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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