Guardians designated hitter David Fry was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday night ... after he was nailed in the face by a nearly 100 MPH fastball.

The scary scene all unfolded in the sixth inning of Cleveland's crucial matchup with Detroit at Progressive Field.

Fry squared around to bunt on a 2-1 count ... but Tarik Skubal's heater got away from him, and instead of hitting the catcher's mitt, the 99.6 MPH pitch ended up right in Fry's nose.

The former All-Star collapsed to the ground immediately in pain ... and nearly everyone on the diamond -- including Skubal -- looked on in fear.

Fry -- noticeably bleeding -- stayed down in the dirt for a while as trainers tended to him. He was eventually put on a cart ... and then taken to a nearby medical facility.

While he did give a thumbs up as he exited the field, there hasn't been much of an update on his condition ... other than he was expected to remain under doctors' watch overnight.

Guards manager Stephen Vogt said following the game -- which the Guardians came back to win, 5-2 -- there's "definitely some injuries there" and the whole team is "thinking about David and his family right now."

"Obviously," he added, "we're glad he is OK, but obviously it's a really scary moment."

Get well soon, David.