Overview
- Marte struck out looking for the final out at Chase Field on Friday night and walked off without using one of the Diamondbacks’ two remaining ABS challenges, immediately ending a 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Television replays and strike-box graphics showed Riley O’Brien’s 100 mph sinker was high and out of the strike zone, which would likely have been overturned if challenged.
- Marte said he expected a breaking ball and was surprised by the pitch, and manager Torey Lovullo said he would talk with Marte while stressing that multiple mistakes in the game also contributed to the loss.
- Several outlets called the decision baffling and noted there was effectively no downside to challenging the call in the ninth inning because a successful challenge would have extended the at-bat.
- The episode underscores a practical limit of MLB’s new ABS process — it detects bad calls but does not act on them automatically — and could prompt teams to reinforce in-game challenge procedures and player awareness.