Overview
- Pages tapped his helmet to initiate an ABS review and lost that challenge in Game 1, a low-leverage, two‑outs call that used one of the team's two challenges for the game.
- Before Game 2, manager Dave Roberts told reporters he had instructed Pages not to use ABS challenges and said the failure to re-emphasize the restriction before Game 1 was 'my fault.'
- Pages finished the regular season with a team-high 14 challenges lost and roughly a 44% success rate, figures the Dodgers cited when limiting his review privileges.
- The move comes as Pages returns from a fractured left hand, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Game 1, and carries a 2025 postseason slump (4-for-51) that has increased scrutiny on his October performance.
- MLB's ABS rule gives each team two batter-initiated challenges per game, so wasting an early, obvious strike can remove a key late-game tool and the Dodgers say they are cutting off misuse to protect strategic flexibility.