EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFederal prosecutors identified 18 pitches, including one from a 2024 playoff game, that will be the focus of their gambling case against Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, which is set for trial in November, according to court documents filed Friday.In the documents, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York included a list of the individual pitches that Clase threw in 17 games spanning from May 19, 2023 to May 28, 2025. Clase is accused of sharing advance information about the pitches with bettors, who allegedly placed wagers on the result and velocity of the pitches.Clase's first pitch to Matt Vierling of the Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning of an Oct. 4, 2024 American League Division Series game was on the list. The pitch, a 93-mph slider, was out of the strike zone. The Guardians won the game 7-0.Prosecutors allege Guardians starter Luis Ortiz also participated in the scheme by giving bettors advance information about two of his pitches, but did not identify them in the filings.Clase, Ortiz and two other defendants face wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges. They have pleaded not guilty. Jury selection for the trial is set to begin in November.In February, the government provided Clase and Ortiz's attorneys with a preliminary list of pitches it was investigating. Ortiz's attorney wrote in a filing at the time that prosecutors had accused Clase of throwing suspect pitches in at least 48 games.Prosecutors are now focused on 18 pitches from 17 games ahead of the trial, according to the documents."The government will only seek to prove that for one or more of approximately 18 of Clase's pitches, and for two of Ortiz's pitches, the defendants provided advance inside information about their pitches to others, who bet on them," U.S. attorney Joseph Nocella wrote in Friday's filing.Clase and Ortiz have been on leave since the summer of 2025. Sportsbooks flagged unusual betting interest on specific pitches from Ortiz in two games in June 2025.
