This pitch to a Royals player from Guardians closer put on leave drew suspicion
Major League Baseball’s investigation into potential sports betting has been underway for weeks.
But after Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase on Monday was put on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31 by MLB as part of the probe, another investigation began.
This one involved fans.
Clase gave up a walk-off home run to the Royals’ Jonathan India in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Kauffman Stadium, and some wondered if that drew MLB’s attention.
A more likely reason was pitches earlier in the season that seemed questionable.
A CBS Sports story noted Clase’s teammate Luis Ortiz was placed on leave following “a betting-integrity firm flagging two of his pitches that coincided with increased bets on a particular outcome.”
X user Ahaan Rungta found 11 instances of pitches from Clase that seemed out of the ordinary. That included one against the Royals on April 12 at Progressive Field.
Clase entered the game with Cleveland ahead 6-1 and threw a first-pitch ball to Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. that was well out of the zone. The Royals scored two runs against Clase that day but lost.
The X account Foolish Baseball also flagged that pitch to Witt as seeming suspicious.
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 9:08 AM with the headline "This pitch to a Royals player from Guardians closer put on leave drew suspicion."
