Randy Arozarena turned one first-inning plate appearance into a rough night for the Mariners’ ABS challenge supply on Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Batting second with nobody on base, Arozarena struck out against Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease and burned both of Seattle’s balls-and-strikes challenges in the process. By the time the at-bat ended, the Mariners were out of challenges for the rest of the game.
The first challenge came on a 0-1 pitch Arozarena thought was too far inside. The review said otherwise. The pitch caught enough of the inside corner to stand, and Seattle was down one challenge almost immediately.
A few pitches later, Arozarena was called out on a third strike he again believed missed inside. That one was even more clearly in the zone, and the Mariners lost their second and final challenge just two batters into the game.
Teams are allowed two ABS challenges per game on balls and strikes, and they keep them only when they win one. Lose both, and that’s it for the rest of the opening nine innings. It’s not often that a club spends both in the same at-bat, let alone with the same hitter.
There’s a case for protecting an at-bat if a hitter thinks a call was wrong. An 0-2 count can change everything.
But with the bases empty, the game scoreless, and the first inning still barely underway, Seattle’s challenge management went sideways fast. One challenge?
Fine. Two in one swing?
Brutal.
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