Pirates 2B Nick Gonzales tries to take back ABS challenge, then wins it
On second thought, Gonzales was fine taking the strikeout. Then his first thought won.
The introduction of ABS challenges to MLB have created various firsts throughout the 2026 season. The first challenge? José Caballero .
The first successful challenge? Francisco Alvarez . The first walk-off challenge?
The Baltimore Orioles . On Friday, we got the first challenge to get taken back then succeed anyway. That arrived in a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, with Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales facing Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar in the seventh inning.
With an 0-2 count, Thielbar went with an outside fastball for a called strike three. Gonzales responded by raising his hand to his helmet as if to challenge the strike call, then walked away, accepting the strikeout. However, home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz accepted the challenge and refused to let Gonzales take it back.