Seattle\u2019s catcher signaled for an appeal to the Automated Ball-Strike System<\/a> in the first inning Tuesday, getting a strikeout on San Diego\u2019s Manny Machado.<\/p>\n \u201cYou take \u2018em any way you can get \u2019em boys,\u201d Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal said on the mound.<\/p>\n Skubal had given up Ketel Marte\u2019s two-run double and retired the Dodgers\u2019 Freddie Freeman on a groundout for his first out when he got ahead of Machado 0-2 in the count. Skubal threw a 89.5 mph changeup, and plate umpire Dan Iassogna yelled\u201d \u201cBall down!\u201d<\/p>\n Raleigh tapped his helmet, triggering a review by the computer umpire that was tested in spring training this year and could be adopted for regular-season use in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a strike,\u201d Raleigh said to Skubal in a conversation captured because they were wearing microphones for the Fox broadcast.<\/p>\n An animation of the computer analysis was shown on the Truist Park scoreboard and the broadcast. NL manager Dave Roberts laughed in the dugout after the challenge.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Before the game, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred indicated the sport\u2019s 11-man competition committee will consider the system for next season.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the ability to correct a bad call in a high-leverage situation without interfering with the time of game because it\u2019s so fast is something we ought to continue to pursue,\u201d Manfred said.<\/p>\n ABS decisions may have an error of margin up to a half-inch.<\/p>\n \u201cOur guys do have a concern with that half inch, what that might otherwise lead to particularly as it relates to the number of challenges you may have, whether you keep those challenges during the course of the game,\u201d union head Tony Clark told the Baseball Writers Association of America. \u201cDoes there need to be some type of buffer zone consideration? Or do we want to find ourselves in a world where it\u2019s the most egregious misses that we want focus in on?\u201d<\/p>\n Manfred sounded less concerned.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe that technology supports the notion that you need a buffer zone,\u201d he said. \u201cTo get into the idea that there\u2019s something that is not a strike that you\u2019re going to call a strike in a review system, I don\u2019t know why I would want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n MLB sets the top of the automated strike zone at 53.5% of a batter\u2019s height and the bottom at 27%, basing the decision on the midpoint of the plate, 8 1\/2 inches from the front and 8 1\/2 inches from the back. That contrasts with the rule book zone called by umpires, which says the zone is a cube.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t even started talking about the strike zone itself, how that\u2019s going to necessarily be measured, and whether or not there are tweaks that need to be made there, too,\u201d Clark said. \u201cSo there\u2019s a lot of discussion that still needs to be had, despite the fact that it seems more inevitable than not.\u201d<\/p>\n Manfred has tested ABS in the minor leagues since 2019, using it for all pitches and then switching to a challenge system. Each team gets two challenges and a successful challenge is retained. Only catchers, batters and pitchers can call for a challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere we are on ABS has been fundamentally influenced by player input,\u201d he maintained. \u201cIf you had two years ago said to me: What do the owners want to do? I think they would have called every pitch with ABS as soon as possible. That\u2019s because there is a fundamental, very fundamental interest in getting it right, right? We owe it to our fans to try to get it right because the players as I talked to them over a couple of years really, expressed a very strong interest or preference for the challenge system that we decided to test.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0The best right-handed hitter in baseball is Cal Raleigh<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Salk: Michael Arroyo is best story in Mariners\u2019 farm system<\/a>
\u2022 Could top Seattle Mariners pick Kade Anderson be in majors next year?<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Insider report indicates Mariners could trade Harry Ford soon<\/a>
\u2022 Mariners rookie Cole Young starting to turn a corner<\/a><\/p>\n
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