Leave extended for Guardians' Luis Ortiz amid betting probe - ESPN

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz will remain on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31, while an investigation by Major League Baseball continues into unusual betting detected on individual pitches thrown by the right-hander.

MLB announced the extension to Ortiz's leave Friday.

Ortiz (4-9, 4.36) was placed on paid leave July 3 through the All-Star Break after a sportsbook reported suspicious betting on the first pitches thrown by Ortiz in select innings against the Seattle Mariners on June 15 and against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 27.

«MLB and MLBPA have agree to extend Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz's non-disciplinary paid leave through games on August 31 while MLB continues its investigation,» Major League Baseball said in a statement.

On June 27, IC360, a firm that monitors the betting market for abnormalities, alerted sportsbooks and gambling regulators after an operator saw a spike in action on Ortiz's first pitch in the bottom of the second inning against the Mariners and in the top of the third inning against the Cardinals. In both instances, the sportsbook saw an unusual increase in money wagered on the pitches being a ball or hit-batsman from betting accounts in New York, New Jersey and Ohio, according to a copy of the IC360 alert obtained by ESPN. Both pitches were outside the strike zone.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters at the All-Star Game that he remains a proponent of the legal betting market in the U.S., because of the transparency that regulation provides, but did express concern about some types of bets offered by sportsbooks.

«There are certain types of bets that strike me as unnecessary and particularly vulnerable,» Manfred said.

«I know there was a lot of sports