Hedges, Fry hit big HRs, then banter: ‘Austin stinks’
CLEVELAND — Austin Hedges and David Fry playfully criticized each other’s hygiene as they sat in the interview room across the hall from the Guardians’ clubhouse.
There was no clear winner in their verbal jousting about how sweaty they each were, but there was on the field — largely thanks to their power display Wednesday.
Fry belted a three-run homer off MacKenzie Gore in the second inning and Hedges hit a two-run shot against Winston Santos in the eighth, lifting Cleveland to a 9-4 victory over the Rangers.
The win prevented Texas from completing its first series sweep at Progressive Field since June 2-5, 2011, and allowed the Guardians to start July on a positive note following a challenging month of June.
“Austin stinks,” Fry said, pointing to Hedges. “Your chair is so much sweatier than mine.”
Their laughter was a much-needed release after two losses to the Rangers, including a 4-2 decision Tuesday that featured rookie Cooper Ingle throwing the ball into the stands with two outs in the seventh, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
Ingle’s mental and physical error put the finishing touches on Cleveland’s first losing month of the season at 10-15, which also saw seven-time All-Star third baseman José Ramírez fracture his left hamate bone on June 13.
“When you have a bad month, you’re like, ‘Hey, it’s July 1st,’ but when you have a good month, you’re like, ‘Hey, it’s still June,’” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “I definitely think we’re happy it’s July 1st, because that was a tough month.”
Vogt placed Fry in the leadoff spot for the second time this season and gave him his ninth start in left field, hoping to give the team a jolt. It paid off early as his 380-foot home run to right-center came during the five-run second.
Fry had batted .091 in 18 games in June, and he was 1-for-24 with runners in scoring position on the season before going deep for the fifth time in 2026.
“We talk a lot of trash to each other, but I mean, the guy is an absolute freak athlete,” Hedges said. “It’s fun to watch a guy like David that can just be like, ‘Give me a role, throw me in there.’
“It’s inspiring for a lot of the young guys on our team to be a yes man, like, ‘Yes, I’m ready for any situation,’ because that’s what he does.”
Texas pulled within 7-4 in the eighth on Elias Díaz’s solo homer, forcing Vogt to get closer Cade Smith throwing in the bullpen, but Hedges sat him down in short order with his first blast since May 2 at the Athletics.
Hedges sent his first pitch from Santos over the fence in left, landing 400 feet away in the bleachers that were largely empty because of the extreme heat warning and 90-plus degree temperatures in the city.
“The whole world knows he’s one of the best, if not the best, defensive catcher in the game,” Fry said. “But his at-bat quality throughout the year has been huge. He’s obviously a vocal leader, but also the leader in showing us how we take our at-bats, and it’s been awesome.”
At age 33 and in his 12th MLB season, Hedges is batting a career-high .270 with two homers and 12 RBIs through 44 games. It’s been a remarkable development, as he hasn’t had an average higher than .200 over a full season since 2018 with San Diego.
Affectionately known as “Hedgey,” he explained that Father Time has motivated him to develop his offensive skills this late in his career.
“I’d love to play this game until I can’t walk anymore, so to me, that’s a lot more years,” Hedges said. “I’m not even close to a finished product, and there is still a lot of work to be done, but I’ve been working really hard, man.
“It’s not been easy, and [my hitting] has not been pretty for about a decade, but there is nothing I’ve worked harder at in my entire life.”