D-backs Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Broke the No. 1 Rule of ABS Challenges

The Arizona Diamondbacks are a relatively conservative team when it comes to the usage of ABS Challenges. That caution may have been best-suited to the situation outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. found hismelf in on Saturday night against the New York Mets.

Gurriel, who had his six-game hitting streak snapped in Friday night's series-opening loss to the Mets, came up to the plate against Mets right-hander Clay Holmes in the second inning of Saturday's contest, facing a 1-2 count.

Holmes proceeded to drop a well-placed 82 MPH sweeping slider perfectly into the top of the strike zone. Gurriel was fooled badly by the pitch, and instinctively turned away to avoid being hit — turning his head away from the pitch in the process.

Gurriel was not even able to see where the pitch specifically landed, yet opted to challenge the pitch. Safe to say, it was not a close call. The pitch was inside the zone by almost a full baseball's width. The call was confirmed, and Gurriel was out on a looking strikeout.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. makes inopportune ABS challenge

Clay Holmes made Lourdes Gurriel look silly.

Twice.

If you get fooled so badly you turn your back to the pitch, you probably shouldn't challenge. pic.twitter.com/hLHxKssn7X
— Jake García (@Jake_M_Garcia) May 9, 2026

Despite the obviously less-than-ideal challenge decision, Gurriel has been quietly contributing offensively for Arizona of late, though the hitting results have not been falling for the D-backs as a team lately.

Gurriel came into Saturday's game hitting just .235/.316/.275, but had hit safely in seven of his last nine games, and had four multi-hit games in the process.

Still working his way back to full strength from a torn ACL, it's been an encouraging, if albeit slow, ramp-up period of late. Gurriel even took three walks in May 5's game — an area of his game that has never quite been productive.

Diamondbacks' ABS approach efficient, but conservative

May 9, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (14) challenges a play against the New York Mets in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The D-backs' overall approach to the ABS Challenge system has been an interesting wrinkle in their strange 2026 season.

Coming into Saturday night's game, Arizona held a 69% success rate when challenging pitches as the fielding team — meaning, challenges made by the catchers behind home plate. However, they were tied with the Cleveland Guardians for the ninth-fewest challenges asked for in that category with just 36 (25 of which were successful).

At the plate, it's a somewhat similar story for Arizona's hitters. The D-backs had challenged just 27 calls while hitting, which ranked third-fewest in baseball. They had won only 13 of those challenges, which was good for a 48% success rate. That percentage, surprisingly enough, was tied for 11th in the majors alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So while, arguably, Arizona has not been challenging as many calls as they theoretically could, they've been above average to elite at picking the right pitches to challenge. Gurriel's challenge, of course, was

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