SEATTLE — Since the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system was introduced, some teams and players have adjusted to it at varying speeds.

The Seattle Mariners were one of the teams that had a slower start getting used to the ABS.

Over the Mariners' last several games, including this current three-game win streak against the rival Houston Astros, the team has improved in that regard.

Currently, Seattle has successfully challenged 54.5% of its calls, which ranks 18th in the majors, according to a chart from ESPN. The Mariners catchers, Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver, have been successful on 64.7% of their challenges, which ranks 15th in the majors.

Raleigh, in particular, has gotten more comfortable with his challenges over the last several games. At the beginning of the season, it looked like Raleigh wasn't confident in his calls, which came as somewhat of a shock for a catcher who won the American League's Platinum Glove award in 2024.

In the first two games against the Astros, Raleigh successfully challenged three calls, one as a hitter and two as a catcher.

"A lot of that just comes with the repetitions and getting a feel for it," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a pregame interview Sunday. "It is a little different in some ways because (the strike zone) does adjust to the hitter now and that didn't used to be the case. So getting an understanding of who's in the box and where the zone might fluctuate according to that person — I think Cal's got a really good feel of that now and feels comfortable with what he's doing back there. And we saw that in spring training two years ago when he got comfortable with it. He and Garver were really strong at it."

Raleigh and Garver's respective catcher meetings and involvement with game planning with the pitchers is well-documented. There has been an adjustment to the ABS portion of things, as Wilson said.

According to the skipper, that adjustment to the strike zone has been restricted strictly to the ABS system. As to the game planning, it's been business as usual.

"I don't really know if it changes how we approach guys all that much," Wilson said. "It's more about pitches you want to challenge and not challenge. We still attack guys the way we'd normally attack. But it is a different kind of mentality when it comes to challenging pitches. Really understanding who's in the box is important."

As the season progresses, it wouldn't be a shock to see the M's' challenges, specifically on Raleigh and Garver's side of things, become steadily more successful.

The Mariners (7-9), will take on the Astros again on Monday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. PT. George Kirby will be on the mound.

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