Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz's leave extended through Aug. 31 amid MLB gambling probe

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz will remain on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31 while he is the subject of a Major League Baseball gambling investigation.

Ortiz's paid leave began on July 3 and was supposed to end on Friday before MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed to extend it.

The team can continue to have contact with Ortiz, but he can’t enter any of the Guardians’ facilities.

The Guardians said in a statement they have been informed of the extension and will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation.

The investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by Ortiz that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and his recent outing against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.

The 26-year-old Ortiz is in his first season with Cleveland after he was acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh last December. The right-hander is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 16 starts this season.

In four big-league seasons, Ortiz is 16-22 with a 4.05 ERA and one save.

Cleveland hosts the Athletics in a weekend series. The Guardians have won six of seven after a 10-game losing streak.

The investigation into Ortiz comes a little more than a year after MLB suspended five players for gambling, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.

Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez — received one-year suspensions.

Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by Major League Baseball in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games, and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league’s investigation.

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