Why the 'Starting Pitcher' is so important

The pitchers are crucially important players in baseball, and bookmakers set their match odds depending on which pitchers are on the mound – a change in pitchers will see a change in the match odds.

When I put up a baseball bet on the Latest Bets page on our site, I’ll also include the names of the starting pitchers, in brackets.

For example:

Minnesota Twins (Blackburn) at Baltimore Orioles (Britton).

Blackburn and Britton are the starting pitchers.

• If when you go to place your bet there has been a pitching change – then don’t bet.

• If you place a bet and the pitchers are changed after your bet has been placed, it’s customary for bookmakers to void your bet and return stakes.

It’s not very often that we see pitching changes like this and it will barely affect us at all - but I think it’s useful to know how we stand when changes do occur.