It is not known if he was able to keep the ball.
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Albert Suárez was on the Orioles’ mound in the top of the ninth inning against Texas when his 1-2 pitch to Evan Carter with two outs was called a ball by plate umpire Manny González. Basallo challenged, replay showed most of the ball caught the top outside corner of the strike zone, and Baltimore’s 8-3 victory was in the books.
“I think at that point we had two (challenges) left,” Basallo, 21, said through a translator. “I thought why not use it? It’s better to use it and see what happens rather than holding on to it.”
Basallo, who also hit a 437-foot home run on Wednesday, used some body English as the replay unfolded, then headed to the mound to hug Suarez, who pitched three innings for his first save since 2017.
“I didn’t think it was a strike, and then when he challenged, I said, ‘Okay, let’s see,’” Suarez said. “Thank goodness we have it.”
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This is the first season that this technology has been used in regular season Major League games.
The Orioles used a challenge at a crucial point in the ninth inning on Sunday, turning a full-count walk into a strikeout while holding off Minnesota 8-6. Twins manager Derek Shelton was ejected after that because he thought the challenge signal didn’t come quickly enough.
Suarez was called back to the majors after Zach Eflin had to leave Tuesday’s start with elbow soreness. After an early flight on Wednesday, he was able to give the rest of the bullpen a rest.
Suárez, 36, was asked his opinion on the ABS in general.
“I think I like him more after what happened today,” Suarez said.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb