In NLCS Game 2, Will Smith twice passed on the ABS Challenge against Brice Turang — and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ended up taking the hit for it. The Dodgers catcher spoke after the game to walk through both decisions, one in the first inning and one in the third, each of which led directly to runs. Milwaukee won 7-4 and now leads the series 2-0, with Los Angeles backed into a corner.
What Happened in Those Two Turang At-Bats
First inning, one out, runner on second. Yamamoto fires a 91 mph cutter that clips the outer edge of the zone. Home plate umpire Chris Segal calls it a ball. Yamamoto turns toward Smith and gestures — that’s all he can do, because ABS Challenge rules prohibit the dugout or any other player from signaling the catcher to request a review. Smith doesn’t challenge. Turang extends the at-bat and three pitches later doubles to left field: tie run scores.
Third inning, same script. Another Yamamoto pitch to Turang is called a ball. Smith again lets it go. Turang draws the walk. Jake Bauers works a 12-pitch at-bat to load the bases, and Christian Yelich singles in two runs to chase Yamamoto from the game. The Japanese right-hander’s night ends with 3 earned runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, and just 1 strikeout on roughly 73 pitches — the shortest postseason outing of his career.
Dave Roberts was direct after the game: that was the turning point. Not Henderson’s error, not the Yelich single — the pitch Smith chose not to question.
How the ABS Challenge Works — and Why It’s the Catcher’s Call
The ABS Challenge system rolled out across all of MLB in 2026. It uses 12 Hawk-Eye cameras positioned around the stadium to define a strike zone 17 inches wide, individually calibrated to each batter’s height — 53.5% from the top reference point, 27% from the bottom. Each team starts with two challenges per game and keeps them if the call is overturned.
The rule is clear on who can request one: the batter, the pitcher, or the catcher, by immediately touching their helmet after the call. No one else. The dugout can’t signal anything. Yamamoto could only gesture from the mound and hope Smith read the moment the same way.
That gap — between what the pitcher sees and what the catcher decides in a split second — is exactly where Game 2 broke down for Los Angeles. The Dodgers didn’t lose any challenges on those plays. They simply never used them. At the end of the game, both of their challenges were still sitting in their pocket, which makes Smith’s decisions that much harder to defend in hindsight.
More Than One Author on This Loss
It would be easy to hang the whole defeat on Smith, but the 7-4 final has several contributors. William Contreras went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. Gunnar Henderson’s errors opened innings Los Angeles couldn’t close. And the Brewers — who posted the best record in MLB during the 2026 regular season at 103 wins — showed that the sweep they suffered in the 2025 NLCS left no scar tissue, only motivation.
Milwaukee had lost seven straight postseason games against the Dodgers before this series. That streak ended in Game 1 and was confirmed in Game 2. The series now shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4, with the Dodgers needing to win all four remaining games to advance.
For Will Smith, the question that will follow every press conference until LA either wins or goes home is the same one: why didn’t you challenge?
Smith’s Numbers This Season
Smith’s 2026 Statcast profile tells a story that traditional stats don’t always capture:
- 276 plate appearances in 2026
- 10 home runs, 34 RBI
- AVG: .260 | OPS: .781
- xwOBA: .389 (expected production based on contact quality)
- Average exit velocity: 89.1 mph
- Barrel rate: 12.4%
- Hard-hit rate: 41.2% (balls hit 95 mph or harder)
- Sprint speed: 43rd percentile
The bat has been quiet in this series — Smith is hitting just .063 through two games — but it’s a defensive decision, not a swing, that has defined his NLCS so far. The Dodgers need him on both sides of the plate if they’re going to dig out of this hole.
