SAN FRANCISCO -- When it comes to replay review, Marlins manager Don Mattingly would rather roll the dice in the early innings than sit back and wait for a moment that may not arise.
Mattingly was in that position in Saturday's 7-2 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park. In the second inning, Miami challenged a call at second base that replay quickly showed was an obvious out.
In hindsight, Mattingly doesn't regret the decision.
"In general, I'd prefer to use it in the second and lose it and then not have it, because most of the time, you don't need it anyway," the Miami manager said Sunday morning.
On Saturday night, Miami reviewed a forceout of Justin Bour at second base in the second. Initially, there was a question if shortstop Brandon Crawford's foot was on the base.
When the play was reviewed, it showed Bour, who slid, never reached or touched second. Even if Crawford initially wasn't on the base, he recovered and stepped on the base.
Pat Shine, the Marlins' Major League administrative coach, recommended the challenge.
"He just didn't see him on the base, and they didn't show the last part," Mattingly said.
Even if a club loses its challenge early, from the seventh inning on, managers can asked the umpires to review close plays.
"They'll look at it, because they don't want to be on the other side of it, and say, 'I'm not going to look at it.' And then they're wrong," Mattingly said. "There is no reason not to look at it if it's really close."
The Marlins have been successful in five of their seven challenges, but Mattingly isn't concerned about percentages.
"I don't worry about the percentage of misses or wins," he said. "It doesn't mean anything. You never know when an out turns into runs. It could be the first inning. You could say, 'Oh, I don't want to burn my challenge in the first.' But then you get that call, and the next thing you know, you get a rally and score three or four runs. That may be your only chance."