St. Louis Cardinals game linked in Guardians' Luis Ortiz gambling investigation

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Luis Ortiz is being investigated by Major League Baseball for potentially gambling on games.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, "betting-integrity firm IC360 sent an alert in June to sportsbook operators regarding Ortiz, whom MLB has placed on 'non-disciplinary paid leave' through July 17." The league and MLB Players Association agreed to a paid leave for Ortiz through the All-Star Break while the investigation was conducted. There's a chance the investigation could be extended beyond that deadline.

Two of Ortiz's pitches to start innings were flagged in Ohio, New York, and New Jersey. One such pitch came on June 15th in the bottom of the second inning against the Seattle Mariners, and the other came against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 27th. In both instances, the pitches were sliders that were way outside of the zone.

The pitch against the Cardinals came in the top of the third inning with catcher Pedro Pages up to bat. Ortiz's 88-mile-per-hour slider bounced in front of the opposite batter's box for a first-pitch ball. Betting on the result of first pitches is offered by some sportsbooks. These wagers are often known as microbets.

Pages ended up homering on a 2-0 sinker to left field.

Ortiz would pitch seven innings in this game, allowing four earned runs, giving up two home runs, and losing the game. This was the last game that he appeared in prior to his leave.

Luis Ortiz has been one of Cleveland's best starters this year with a 4-9 record and a 4.36 ERA. He's struck out 96 batters in 88.2 innings. Before being traded to Cleveland this past offseason, Ortiz played the three previous years with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sports betting probes last year revealed that Tucupita Marcano of the San Diego Padres had placed almost 400 bets on baseball while playing in the minors. Marcano was suspended for life from the game. Four other players received one-year suspensions for their actions as well. Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired for "sharing" a legal sports betting account as well.