History Takes Place in MLB All Star Game
The 2025 MLB All-Star Game got off to a fast start Tuesday night in Atlanta. After a scoreless top of the first, the National League wasted no time getting on the board. Tarik Skubal allowed three straight hits to open the bottom half, with Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ketel Marte all reaching base. Just like that, it was 2-0 NL.
Advertisement
But the biggest moment of the inning wasn't the early runs. It came with two outs after Skubal struck out Manny Machado, sort of. Umpire Dan Iassogna initially called the pitch a ball, but Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh called for a challenge. The review showed the pitch caught the strike zone, and Machado was officially rung up.
Skubal followed that up by striking out Will Smith to end the inning.
The challenge wasn't just another call reversal. It was the first successful use of the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system in MLB All-Star Game history. MLB quickly shared the moment on social media:
"The first ABS challenge powered by @TMobile in #AllStarGame history was ... SUCCESSFUL!"
Advertisement
The ABS system has been in testing across the minor leagues since 2019. In this new format, each team gets two challenges and retains them if the call is overturned.
As explained by Austin Williams of Live Now Fox, the system uses real-time tracking data to determine if a pitch crosses the strike zone. The technology has been a topic of debate among players and fans alike.
San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) at Great American Ball Park.Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
Before the game, Skubal weighed in on the system:
"I have this thing where I think everything is a strike until the umpire calls it a ball," he said with a smile.
National League starter Paul Skenes offered a similar take:
"Pitchers think everything is a strike. Then you go back and look at it, and it's two, three balls off," Skenes said Monday. "We should not be the ones that are challenging it."
Advertisement
MLB plans to evaluate how the system performs in the All-Star Game and send feedback to the competition committee for further discussion during the offseason.
Related: Mets React to Juan Soto Announcement on Thursday
Related: Controversy Erupts After MLB Investigates Pitcher on Thursday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NHL Summer Splash Rankings: No. 31, Chicago Blackhawks
The Hockey News' NHL summer splash rankings continue with the Chicago Blackhawks. The series focuses on which NHL teams improved the most or got worse so far this off-season in terms of acquisitions, departures, hirings and firings. As always, there are exceptions to the rules – in some cases, there are teams that aren't flat-out worse than they were last season but made significantly fewer moves than they either should've made or were expected to make. We kicked off the series with the Buffalo Sabres in last place. Their defense corps may have improved slightly, but their forward group worsened, and they did significantly less than expected to take a step forward. The Blackhawks also did less than expected. Additions Andre Burakovsky (LW), Sam Lafferty (C), Dominic Toninato (C), Jeff Blashill (coach) The Breakdown: Imagine you're Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson. You're in the midst of a full rebuild, and you start seeing solid development in a talented core of youngsters. To that end, superstar Connor Bedard is leading the way, and he needs some talented wingers to play with. The Blackhawks' big get this free agency was Burakovsky, who put up 37 points in 79 games this past season. We beg your pardon, but is this really the best the Blackhawks can do this summer? He's a good addition in itself, but he hasn't produced enough in recent years to give hope that he'll be the solution on Bedard's wing. The Hawks still have $21.4 million in salary cap space and apparently no high-end players to spend it on. That's what has to irritate Blackhawks fans more than anything. They were busier in past off-seasons, when they acquired Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Foligno, the since-traded Taylor Hall and others, but they haven't found that right line combination for Bedard. They still have tons of room to be active this summer, so the optics are not ideal. It's possible that the Hawks could eventually put newly drafted first-rounder Anton Frondell on a line with Bedard at some point during their careers, but a report by Expressen suggests Frondell is headed to the Swedish League for 2025-26. Coming in to handle all that is Blashill, the former Detroit Red Wings coach who spent the past three years as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He replaces Anders Sorensen, who remains as an assistant coach. Sorensen didn't do all that bad of a job as the interim coach, despite posting a 17-30-9 record in 56 games. At 51 years old, Blashill can still connect with his players and play to their strengths. But like his predecessors in Chicago, Blashill will have a challenging time trying to coax upper-level play out of a lineup that doesn't have the horses to get them playing meaningful hockey down the stretch next year. Departures Patrick Maroon (LW), Philipp Kurashev (C), Joseph Veleno (C), TJ Brodie (D), Alec Martinez (D) The Breakdown: The Blackhawks lost a great deal of veteran professionalism in the departures of defensemen Brodie and Martinez and winger Pat Maroon. Also gone are depth players Kurashev and Veleno. Kurashev actually played decently well with Bedard in the latter's rookie season, with 54 points, but he only had 14 points this past season. Chicago didn't give him a qualifying offer, and he signed with fellow rebuilding club, the San Jose Sharks. Martinez, Maroon and Brodie were all true pros right up until the end, but none of the departures left a massive hole that can't be filled. Eventually, the Hawks' young players should be taking up most of these jobs, and five open jobs on the NHL roster should be sufficient motivation for those youngsters to take the next competitive step. That's Plan A, but if it doesn't work, Plan B could stand for Big trouble. The Bottom Line The Hawks have exciting young players, including Bedard and prospects Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar, Sam Rinzel, Oliver Moore and newly drafted center Anton Frondell. The problem in Chicago isn't the future. It's the present. Despite having Bedard leading the charge, the rest of the Blackhawks' current lineup includes either mid-tier veterans, outright journeymen or youngsters still finding their way. Re-signing Donato at a $4-million cap hit is a nice piece of business for Davidson, and the player will have high expectations to take himself and Bedard to another level. But look at their roster as a whole, and you'll see they didn't improve much at all. Let's be clear – Davidson did the right thing by tanking. However, the moves he has made to be competitive while they rebuild haven't been sufficient, especially in the ultra-competitive Central Division. Just because some of their past veteran additions underperformed doesn't mean this summer's conservative approach was needed, even if they're not the most attractive free-agent destination right now. They have picks and cap space to make more upgrades via the trade market, and they have two salary retention slots in case an addition doesn't work out. Is there a potential for a Cinderella miracle in Chicago? Anything is possible, we suppose. But when their biggest acquisition of the off-season is Burakovsky – who hasn't scored more than 13 goals in any of the past three seasons – they won't likely improve in the standings. Their only saving grace at this point is getting the chance to draft Gavin McKenna next year. Summer Splash Rankings 31. Chicago Blackhawks 32. Buffalo Sabres Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Clippers sign three-time All-Star Bradley Beal after Suns buyout
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers have signed guard Bradley Beal after the final two years of his contract were bought out by the Phoenix Suns earlier this week. The team announced his signing on Friday. He averaged 17 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 32.1 minutes while starting 38 of 53 games for the Suns last season. Beal shot 50% from the floor, 39% from 3-point range and 80% from the foul line. 'Players of this caliber are very rare, and they're hard to come by,' coach Tyronn Lue said. 'He's been the best player on his team. You can put him in so many different spots and he'll find ways to score: out of pick-and-roll, coming off screens, catch-and-shoot. He can create his own or he can play off the ball. He's a great cutter. He's also a great playmaker who is going to make everybody else better.' The 32-year-old Beal is a three-time All-Star and 13-year NBA veteran. ___ AP NBA: The Associated Press
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kyle Schwarber's solo home run (31)
Kyle Schwarber connects with a solo home run to right-center field, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning
