SAN DIEGO — Cincinnati Reds shortstop Matt McLain challenged three pitches in his eighth-inning plate appearance and won all three for a two-out walk Monday night in the Reds’ 6-2 loss to the San Diego Padres.
“That’s kind of what it’s for,” McLain said of the system. “I was glad it’s there because if it wasn’t there, I’m walking back to the dugout.”
McLain, who had already had two hits on the night, came to the plate against Padres right-hander Jason Adam. Batting in the seventh spot in the lineup, McLain challenged the 1-0 pitch from Adam that was called a strike by home-plate umpire Lance Barrett. The Automated Ball-Strike system showed Adam’s slider was low.
The next pitch, another slider, was initially called a ball by Barrett, and McLain tapped his helmet again. Again, the call was overturned.
After a 3-0 fastball for an unchallenged called strike, Adam again came with a slider that Barrett called a strike. McLain, who had tossed his bat toward the Reds’ dugout before Barrett made his strike call, again tapped his helmet to signal for a challenge. ABS showed the pitch was low for ball four.
“They were really similar pitches, like the height of them all was very similar, so I was pretty confident in all of them,” McLain said.
Matt McLain had to use not one, not two, but THREE ABS challenges in one at-bat.
Should the ump be ejected from the game on the spot when this happens? 🤣😅 #Reds pic.twitter.com/rPlnt1T9dv
— Reds Daily (@RedsDaily4) June 9, 2026
Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson struck out — swinging — to end the inning.
Barrett had four other pitches in the game overturned and two upheld. Behind the plate, Stephenson challenged two ball calls from Barrett, and both were overturned.
Padres left fielder Samad Taylor challenged a pair of Barrett’s calls in his fifth-inning plate appearance, winning a challenge early in the count before challenging a called third strike with a full count and losing.
Taylor’s challenge exhausted the Padres’ challenges after catcher Felix Fermin split a pair of challenges earlier in the game. Fermin challenged a 2-2 ball called by Barrett against Reds DH Nathaniel Lowe to end the top of the third. Fermin challenged a 1-2 ball call against Stephenson in the fourth inning, but Barrett’s call was confirmed.
The Reds lost a challenge in the ninth, when leadoff man Blake Dunn challenged a 3-2 strike call from Barrett against Mason Miller. The call was confirmed.
Reds catchers have a 67 percent success rate on challenges this season, and their batters have been successful on 51 percent of their challenges.
McLain, though, has him all topped. He is now 4 for 4 on challenges this season after his trio of successes on Monday.
“I don’t use it much, but that was a good spot to use it,” McLain said. “It’s more about feeling like you’re in a good spot to use it. You want to save them for later in the game if you can.”
