The Baltimore Orioles fell victim to an accidental challenge.
In the second inning of the Orioles’ 8-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, third baseman Coby Mayo was forced to challenge a pitch he didn’t want to.
Mayo took a 3-0 pitch from Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodríguez on the outside and began walking toward first base, thinking he had a walk. Instead, home plate umpire John Tumpane called it a strike.
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Mayo expressed his displeasure with the call and raised his right hand toward his helmet, but did not tap his head, as he did not want to challenge the pitch. Tumpane thought he did indeed challenge the pitch and initiated a review.
The call was confirmed to be a strike as Mayo argued he did not challenge the call. The Orioles ended up losing the challenge, one of their two on the day. A replay confirmed that Mayo never actually touched his head.
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Mayo, however, still had a successful at-bat. On the ensuing 3-1 pitch, Mayo ripped a 91-mph fastball down the left-field line for a double and ended up scoring the game’s first run.
Mayo’s unintentional challenge is one of a few that have occurred so far this season. Last week, Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Nick Gonzales challenged a pitch but immediately tried to reverse his decision, as the team only had one challenge left.
Gonzales ended up winning the challenge, and the Pirates retained their last challenge.
Mayo and the Orioles (9-9) will hope they don’t have any more ABS snafus when they play the Cleveland Guardians (10-9) on Thursday at 6:10 p.m. ET.
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