Overview
- Pages used an ABS (automated ball-strike) challenge on an obvious two-strike pitch in the second inning of Game 1 on Saturday and lost the review, leaving the Dodgers with one remaining challenge for the game.
- Roberts told reporters before Game 2 that he spoke with Pages after the game and has instructed him not to signal ABS challenges going forward, and he accepted responsibility for not revisiting the issue earlier.
- The restriction responds to Pages’ season-long ABS struggles, when he lost a team-high 14 challenges and finished with about a 44 percent success rate on reviews.
- Pages also went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Game 1 and carries a difficult postseason history after hitting 4-for-51 in last year’s playoffs, which factored into the decision to limit his in-game tech use.
- The directive is tactical rather than absolute because the team cannot physically stop a player from signaling a challenge, but it signals managerial control to conserve ABS resources and reduce low-leverage mistakes.