ESPN journalist Jeff Passan revealed that the investigation being conducted by Major League Baseball (MLB) into Dominican pitcher Luis Leandro Ortiz of the Cleveland Guardians is related to alleged illegal gambling. Ortiz was placed on paid, non-disciplinary administrative leave by the league.
“Cleveland Guardians right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz is under investigation by Major League Baseball after a betting integrity firm detected a couple of pitches that had received unusual gambling activity, sources told ESPN on Thursday,” Passan published on the ESPN portal.
According to Passan’s report, the betting integrity firm IC360 issued an alert to sportsbook operators in June. This notification arose after detecting irregular behavior in two pitches thrown by Ortiz.
“In a typical MLB season, more than 700,000 pitches are thrown. Two of Luis Ortiz’s exhibited unusually risky behavior, triggering an alert and an investigation by Major League Baseball,” Passan explained on his X account.
“The alert, according to sources who reviewed it, referred to actions on Ortiz’s first pitches in selected innings that resulted in a ball or a hit in two games: June 15 against the Seattle Mariners and June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Both in the bottom of the second inning against the Mariners and the top of the third against the Cardinals, Ortiz threw a first-pitch slider that missed the strike zone wildly,” he published.
“Some sportsbooks offer wagers on the outcome of the very first pitches, commonly known as microbetting. Ortiz’s paid leave, which ends at the conclusion of the All-Star break, was negotiated between the league and the MLB Players Association. If the investigation remains open, the leave could be extended,” Passan argued.
image credits for this post: n.com.do
