On a rainy, foggy night, Royce Lewis and the Twins made some kind of history. Jamie Squire / Getty Images
April 2, 2026Updated 12:16 am EDT
Well, at least the 2026 Minnesota Twins lead the league in something.
During an ugly, rainy 13-9 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night, the Twins, Major League Baseball’s most aggressive Automated Ball-Strike challenge system team, set season highs for challenges requested (nine), overturned calls (eight) and combined challenges in a game (11).
The combined challenges broke the previous record of 10 set by the Twins and Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, according to data from Tap to Challenge, a site that uses Statcast data to track ABS-related developments.
Josh Bell helped establish the new combined team game record with no outs in the ninth inning when ABS overturned a first-pitch called strike by plate umpire Andy Fletcher. Bell homered on the next pitch for the Twins, who dropped to 1-4.
Through five games, the Twins have converted a league-high 16 challenges. The New York Yankees and Orioles are the only other teams to have double-digit overturns.
Catcher Ryan Jeffers converted four challenges Wednesday, three behind the plate and one while standing in the box.
Left fielder Austin Martin went 2-for-2 in his challenges, and Luke Keaschall was successful in his. Matt Wallner was the only Twins player to incorrectly challenge a call on a 3-2 pitch in the first inning.
“The thing our hitters should see is the egregious ones,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said Sunday morning, hours before he became the first manager ejected over an ABS dispute. “What we need to do on our end is find the guys that (are) apprehensive and show them and say, ‘You have the ability to challenge.’”
Apr 2, 2026
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