CLEVELAND, Ohio — David Fry hit the walk-off homer for the Guardians on Thursday in their 7-5 win over the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field.
David Fry saved the Guardians’ season earlier in the playoffs with a two-run homer and a squeeze bunt in their 5-4 win over the Tigers in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.
With two outs in the 10th inning, Fry would defy the odds again. Fry, who pinch-hit for Kyle Manzardo in the seventh inning, hit yet another two-run homer but this time to end the game in the 10th inning against Clay Holmes, who hadn’t given up a single run in his postseason career with the Yankees.
Here is what Fry had to say after Game 3. Transcript courtesy of MLB:
Q. David, just take us into that at-bat there. What’s going through your mind?
DAVID FRY: Yeah, obviously Clay is a really tough at-bat, especially for a righty with that sinker-slider combo. I guess it was my second at-bat off of Weaver was no good at all. And I was just like, I just told God, like hey, man, take this. It’s a tough matchup, just try to have fun, you take the at-bat, got behind in the count and just got a pitch up in the zone and luckily it went out.
Q. What’s the reaction like in the dugout after Jhonkensy Noel’s homer?
DAVID FRY: It was amazement. It was so much excitement, but then it was just like, oh, yeah, of course Jhonkensy hit a game tying homer against a guy throwing 98 and throws a changeup and hits it for a homer. Nobody does that. We had, like Vogter said, like coming in the game, it is like, here you go, big boy, hit a two-run homer, and he did. It’s so cool.
Q. How about you and these big moments in these two series, what makes you be at your best in these clutch situations?
DAVID FRY: Yeah, again, like I said, I try to give it to God, and I’m just trying to have the slowest heartbeat I can. It’s tough in those situations to stay within yourself and just try to have a normal approach, but luckily tonight was a good one.
Q. David, what is it about this team that enables everybody to just continue to respond like when Stephen Vogt was talking about punched in the mouth kind of situations?
DAVID FRY: Yeah, I think it’s who we are as a team. Everyone generally loves each other. We come to the field excited to play. It’s like, yeah, we got punched in the mouth with the best pitcher in baseball, Emmanuel Clase, and it’s like, he picked us up all year. It’s time we pick him up.
There were so many little moments that obviously Matty gives us a huge start, then bullpen comes in, does their thing, Gimi him my makes unreal plays.
I think the at-bat that got forgotten was off Weaver two outs in the ninth. Lane has an unbelievable at-bat and then hits a double off the wall to keep the game alive before Jhonkensy’s homer. There are just so many things that these guys do as a team, they’re so tough. I mean, it’s so much fun to be a part of.
Q. It seemed like a great time in New York when we were talking to you. You said we need to get back to Guards Ball, we need to get back to being ourselves. Did it feel like that’s what it was tonight?
DAVID FRY: Yeah, it was good pitching all night. Amazing defense, obviously led by Gimi, and then clutch hitting. Rocchio gets the bunt down, bunts, bombs and chaos. That’s what we talked about. It felt like tonight we got back to that.
Q. You touched on it already, but I want to ask you a little more about after Emmanuel Clase just dominated for you guys all year, how big was it for everybody else in the dugout to pick him up after that?
DAVID FRY: Yeah, it’s unbelievable — like there’s not enough adjectives to talk about how good he was this season. He had to have set records for just about everything you can do as a closer, and you just hand him the ball, and we don’t even watch the game I feel like. I feel like we are chatting up because we know the game is over.
So we were like, obviously, shook, but it was just like, you know what, it’s time we give him a break. He carried our team all year long in the ninth inning, and it’s our time to pick him up, and I’m glad we did.
Q. On your homer, while the ball is in the air, what’s going through your head?
DAVID FRY: At that point I blacked out. No clue. I remember being like halfway down the first baseline looking back at the dugout and looking and saying, alright, I just have to make sure I touch all four bases and get home and celebrate.
Q. More on the reaction, how did it compare, especially doing it at home compared to the big home run you hit in Detroit in the last series?
DAVID FRY: Yeah, different. The one in Detroit I didn’t know was out. And at that point I think I was the tying run in that game so I was kind of booking it making sure I get to second base. And then there was still game left in that one. So it is like let’s get back in the dugout. Here we go, we got to close this one out. Obviously this one was over after, and it’s a blur still.
