Dodgers hitters in the 2026 regular season rated as fine or even good in most measures of the ABS challenge system. They were 10th in overturns vs. expected (8.4), tied for eighth in success rate (51%) and tied for 13th in runs vs. expected (0.1). Those numbers came as the club used the 16th-most batter challenges in MLB (159).
Andy Pages’ challenge in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves, however, was not so good. With two outs and nobody on base in the second inning, Pages tapped his helmet after a 2-2 pitch that was deemed to have caught the strike zone.
Indeed, the pitch was a strike, measured at 2.6 inches above the bottom edge of the zone -- not particularly close. Pages and the Dodgers lost that challenge for the rest of the game.
Fortunately for Los Angeles, it didn’t prove costly in a 5-3 opening win. But manager Dave Roberts apparently doesn’t want a similar situation happening again this postseason, as he said before Sunday’s Braves win in Game 2 that he told Pages not to challenge anymore.
“We talked about obviously a lot this year with Andy's success rate or lack thereof. I didn't revisit it before Game 1 yesterday, so that's my fault,” Roberts said. “I did have a conversation today. So, yeah, we've managed that one going forward.”
This isn’t a new phenomenon for Pages, who ranked among MLB’s worst regular-season challengers. Among 182 batters with at least 10 challenges, Pages was 142nd in overturns vs. expected (-3.0) and 169th in runs vs. expected (-1.3). He was also using challenges frequently despite the lack of success, with his 25 total challenges ranking 33rd-most among hitters.
Roberts addressed his team, including Pages, regarding ABS usage after the Dodgers went on a seven-game losing streak in August. Notably, Pages did not challenge again in the regular season after an Aug. 12 miss in the first inning against the Royals.
“I think the team strategy, it's different,” Roberts said Sunday. “I think some guys have a better propensity, a better success rate understanding leverage, understanding their ability to know the strike zone. Because I trust Mookie on the ball away, but he was playing the long game, which I respect. So it's not a one-size-fits-all situation.”
The ABS Challenge system has already proved pivotal in its postseason debut. The Phillies clinched Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the Braves with a helmet tap.
Roberts and the Dodgers clearly don’t want to take any chances.