Automated Ball-Strike System sees 60.7% success rate in first games

CINCINNATI (AP) — Terry Francona had every reason not be a fan of the Automated Ball-Strike System, after the Cincinnati Reds' 3-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

However, the longtime manager was taking the long view after game one of 162.

Francona saw a walk by Eugenio Suárez on a full count overturned to a strikeout in the fourth inning while Connor Phillips' ninth-inning strikeout of Boston's Roman Anthony — also on a full count — overturned to a walk.

“I think our pitchers are going to have to get used to thinking the inning might be over, and it’s not,” Francona said. “It’s almost like when a guy comes out and you say, ‘Hey, way to go. Can you get one more?’ So you’re gonna have to stay dialed in.”

Going into Thursday night's games, teams had a 60.7% success rate on challenges, going 17 of 28 through the first 10 games of the regular season.

Using Hawk-Eye technology, 12 cameras measure whether a pitch crosses the strike zone with accuracy of about one-sixth of an inch.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was pleased after they were 2 of 3 on challenges. Even though there was one challenge he wished one of his hitters would have made.

Trevor Story was up with two outs and runners on first and second in the fifth inning. Story was caught looking on a fastball by Andrew Abbott that looked to be a ball.

“You just have to make sure. There was one early where Trevor is in that situation again, he’d probably challenge," Cora said. “We thought the pitch was up. We don’t mind him challenging there because it changes the whole thing, right? We were talking about it. It’s a different ballgame now.”

The Red Sox did have a successful challenge in the bottom of the inning when Garrett Crochet's cutter just got the lower half of the strike zone against Suárez. Instead of Suárez drawing a walk, catcher Carlos Narváez's challenge resulted in the third out of the inning.

“He made a really good pitch right there. I thought it stayed down and it was a ball, but with the new ABS, good for him,” Suárez said.

Anthony's challenge paid off. Instead of the third out of the inning and a strikeout, it was overturned to a walk and put runners at first and second. Story and Jarren Duran followed with RBI singles to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.

“I knew it was a ball. I was pretty confident," Anthony said. "It turned the game around in a sense. It was good to turn that around, get on base and score there. I trust my instincts and discipline at the plate. I’ve had many in the past, up, down, in and out. That was a good example. Probably not even close. Just kind of knew it there.”

Pittsburgh's Oneil Cruz became the first batter to have a ball four overturned to strike three during the third inning against the Mets. New York catcher Francisco Alvarez challenged and it showed the pitch caught the inside corner. The Mets were 2 for 3 on their challenges.

Minnesota and the Chicago White Sox both went 3 for 4 on their challenges, while Tampa Bay was 2 for 2.

Phillies reliever Zach Pop failed his team’s first challenge in the eighth inning against Texas' Brandon Nimmo. Pop challenged James Hoye’s ball four call but it was confirmed on replay and Nimmo walked.

Manager Rob Thomson didn't mind the challenge.

“I was good with it. It was a 10th of an inch off. That pitch decided an at-bat late in the game, we’ve got the lead. On the defensive side you want to use that challenge,” he said.

Sports writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this story.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

A call is overturned by Automated Ball-Strike System during the ninth inning of an opening-day baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox in Cincinnati, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

PHOENIX (AP) — Lydia Ko opened with four straight birdies and never stopping rolling Thursday until she closed out the best round of her LPGA Tour career with two more birdies for a 12-under 60 on a day of extreme low scoring in the Ford Championship.

Defending champion Hyo Joo Kim had a 61, making it the first time since the 2003 Kellogg-Keebler Classic two players were double digits under par in the opening round.

“I don't think I've ever actually started a round with four birdies, so it was nice to take advantage of the good start and continue that on my back nine,” Ko said. “I think like as every golfer, when things go well you also think about the things that could go terribly wrong. I feel like I stayed patient and was rolling it really well.”

A moderate start to her 13th season came to life on the Cattail course at Whirlwind Golf Club when the 28-year-old Ko got into a rhythm after a rare putter change and started piling up the birdies.

She said the idea of 59 — Annika Sorenstam has the only sub-60 round in LPGA history, 25 years ago on a different course in Phoenix — entered her thinking when she birdied her 14th and 15th holes of the round after starting on No. 10.

But she didn't hit a 7-foot birdie putt firmly enough on the par-5 seventh. Ko finished with two more birdies for her career low round.

“That would have been nice to hole that one,” Ko said. “But who knows? Maybe if I holed that one I might not have holed the other two. You can't think about ‘what if?’ Birdied some other ones that I didn't expect, so kind of just evens out in that sense.”

It was the ninth round of 60 or lower on the LPGA, the most recent by Lucy Li at Pinnacle Country Cub in Arkansas in 2024.

Kim also started on No. 10 and shot 28 on the front nine, finishing birdie-eagle-birdie, including a hole-out from the fairway on the par-4 eighth hole.

Nelly Korda, who opened the year with a 54-hole win in Florida and was runner-up last week in California, holed out from the 18th fairway for eagle in the middle of her round and shot 63, one of her career best. She was three shots behind.

They all played in the morning and no one caught them in the afternoon, when temperatures were pushing 100 degrees (38 Celsius). Frida Kinhult of Sweden had a 64, the low score of the afternoon. Jeeno Thitikul, the No. 1 player in women's golf, opened with a 69.

The big surprise for Ko was not so much her score but the equipment she uses. The Kiwi rarely tinkers with her putter but decided to switch to a different model earlier this week.

“It’s been a while since I have tried a different model,” Ko said of her Scotty Cameron 12 she used at Whirlwind. “It just rolled good. Went in the bag on Tuesday. ... This has only been one round but it’s a good start. You know, really couldn’t have been any better.”

Ko was among six players from the morning wave who shot 65 or better. The course must not have seemed all that easy to Lexi Thompson, who plays a limited schedule and made her 2026 debut with a 75 that left her 15 shots behind.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Lydia Ko, of New Zealand, hits from the 11th tee during the first round of the LPGA Fortinet Founders Cup golf tournament, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)