Yankees’ José Caballero loses first robot challenge of ball/strike call

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The New York Yankees’ José Caballero lost the first challenge taken to Major League Baseball’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb in Wednesday night’s season opener.

Webb started the fourth inning with a 90.7 mph sinker on the upper, inner corner that was called a strike by Bill Miller, a major league umpire since 1997. Caballero tapped his helmet, and the 12 Hawk-Eye cameras of the Automated Ball-Strike System upheld Miller’s decision in a graphic shown on the Oracle Park scoreboard.

New York was ahead 5-0 at the time. Caballero drove in the first run with an RBI double in a five-run second inning against Webb, who got his 1,000th career strikeout in the fourth.

The automated system had been tested in the minor leagues since 2019 and was used during major league spring training in 2025 and ’26. Some managers have said they will still find ways to argue and get ejected.

Before Wednesday’s game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke in support of the new system and the importance of discussing decisions on challenges with his team ahead of time.

“I hope so,” Boone said when asked if he was excited. “We’ve had a lot of dialogue at it, it’s something ...