Guardians starter Luis Ortiz's suspicious wild pitches at heart of MLB gambling investigation

Ketel Marte sat down to talk about his improvement this season and the Arizona Diamondbacks' expectations.

Cleveland Guardians starter Luis Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave hours before he was scheduled to take the mound against the Chicago Cubs Thursday, MLB announced. 

While MLB didn’t disclose the nature of its investigation, ESPN reported it was related to gambling. 

Two pitches thrown by Ortiz during a start are being scrutinized. 

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Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Progressive Field June 9, 2025. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)

In June, betting integrity firm IC360 relayed the two pitches to sportsbooks, according to ESPN, and the first was on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners.

The firm flagged unusual betting action on the first pitch thrown by Ortiz in the bottom of the second inning to be a ball or hit batsman. Ortiz spiked a slider into the ground far away from the strike zone. 

Then, on June 27, more unusual betting action came in on a pitch from Ortiz in the top of the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. Once again, the bets were on a ball or a hit batsman, and Ortiz proceeded to spike another pitch the catcher couldn’t handle. 

While instances like this happen to even the best of pitchers, the league is looking into the situation. 

The bets came in from Ohio, New York and New Jersey, according to ESPN. 

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz celebrates during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Progressive Field May 30, 2025. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)

The non-disciplinary leave for Ortiz is scheduled to run through the MLB All-Star