Evan Carter was called out on a reviewed third strike to end the game


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A walk-off via ABS challenge? It took less than a week for Major League Baseball to see the first of its kind. The system, in which a hitter, pitcher, or catcher can challenge a called ball or strike and have it promptly overturned or upheld via review, is new to MLB this season and already we've seen some notable use cases. The biggest to date came in Wednesday's matinee between the Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles, an 8-3 win for the host O's.

With two outs in the top of the ninth, Baltimore right-handed reliever Albert Suárez delivered a 1-2 fastball to Evan Carter that plate umpire Manny Gonzalez ruled a ball to even the count at 2-2. Behind the plate, however, 21-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo determined that Suárez's up-and-away pitch nicked the corner of the zone and tapped his helmeted head to initiate the challenge. Let's roll history-making tape:

Basallo's successful protestation secured Suárez's first save -- this one of the three-inning variety -- since Aug. 6, 2017. It was Gonzalez's fourth overturned ball-strike call of the game.

The catcher said after the game that he wasn't even sure if the pitch was a strike, but took a chance with two challenges remaining.

"I thought, 'Why not use it?'" Basallo said through an interpreter (via MLB.com). "Better to use it and see what happens."

As you've no doubt noticed during the course of spring training and the young season to date, the ruling takes mere seconds and doesn't drain a great deal of energy from the moment. Indeed, one can argue that it adds a layer of suspense to critical moments such as this one (well, as critical as a moment can be in a five-run game on April 1).

Some will fret that the possibility of an LCS or World Series ending in such a manner is too grave to contemplate, but the quick turnaround and additional seconds of tension won't preempt any celebratory dog piles. It'll look a little like the above, which hardly amounts to some kind of nightmare scenario in terms of optics.

As for Basallo, the author of this history-making moment, it was a fine day indeed. The highly regarded young talent earlier in the game smote his first home run of the 2026 season, and it was a booming off no less a moundsman than Nathan Eovaldi:

The outcome of this game pushed the Orioles to 3-3 on the season, while the Rangers are now 4-2.

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