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When you bet a baseball moneyline, many books let you tie the bet to the starting pitchers. With a listed-pitcher bet, if the named starter doesn’t start, the bet is cancelled and you get your money back. With an action bet, it stands whoever pitches, and depending on the book it’s settled at your original odds or at a new price.
The choice only matters on the day a starter is scratched, but on that day it decides whether you still have a bet and at what price.
Why the starting pitcher matters so much
The price of a baseball game is built around the two pitchers expected to start. The starter usually pitches more of the game than anyone else on his team, so a change can move the line a long way. A team might be a big favorite with its ace on the mound and close to a coin flip with a spot starter.
Starters get changed for all sorts of reasons, such as a minor injury, illness or a rainout that shuffles the rotation. So books give you a way to decide what happens to your bet if the pitcher you expected doesn’t start.
The three options
| Option | What you’re saying | If a starter changes |
|---|---|---|
| Both pitchers listed | Both named starters must start | No action if either one doesn’t start |
| One pitcher listed | Only one named starter must start | No action if that pitcher doesn’t start; a change on the other side doesn’t matter |
| Action | The bet stands whoever starts | Bet stays live, at your original price or a re-priced line, depending on the book |
A pitcher generally counts as starting once he throws the first pitch for his team, which is how Bovada’s community post describes it too. If he’s pulled after one batter, he still started.
Bovada’s rules
Bovada’s moneyline help page says you can specify whether both listed pitchers, one listed pitcher, or no listed pitcher “must start the game.” A post on Bovada’s community forum describes the same choice: a listed wager is settled as no action if the pitcher changes, and an action wager has action “regardless of who throws the first pitch.” It adds that the option applies mainly to moneyline bets.
For totals, Bovada’s rule is stricter. Its totals page says both listed pitchers must start the game for over/under bets to have action, and its game-segments page says the same for first-five-innings bets. So at Bovada, a scratched starter voids a full-game total or a first-five bet.
Bovada’s help pages don’t say whether an action bet keeps its original odds or is re-priced after a pitcher change. If that matters to you, ask support before you bet. The run line rules on Bovada’s baseball page don’t mention pitchers either, so check your bet slip or ask.
How other books handle it
Books differ, which is why the house rules are worth reading before you bet. Three examples from state-licensed books:
- FanDuel’s house rules say moneyline bets default to action and “will stand if a pitcher change occurs,” with one or both listed pitchers available as options.
- BetMGM’s online rules, posted on the Borgata help site, treat a standard moneyline as action “regardless of the starting pitcher.” A separate listed-pitchers moneyline is cancelled if either starter changes.
- The Borgata’s retail sportsbook in Atlantic City keeps action bets live “at the opening price of the adjusted line.” Your odds move to the new line’s price, which can be better or worse than what you took.
So the same bet can be settled three different ways depending on where you place it. The rule is set by the book, and it’s usually in the baseball section of its house rules.
An example
You bet $140 on the home team at -140 with its ace listed to start. That bet would win $100. An hour before first pitch, the ace is scratched, and the market moves the home team to +115 with a spot starter going instead.
- Listed pitcher: the bet is cancelled and your $140 comes back.
- Action at your original odds: you still have the home team at -140, a price set for a pitcher who isn’t pitching.
- Action at the adjusted line: your $140 now wins $161 at +115. You got a better price, but on a team that’s no longer favored.
Now flip it and say the other team’s starter is scratched instead, making your team a bigger favorite. With action at your original price, you’d hold -140 on a team the market now puts at, say, -175. With a both-pitchers-listed bet, you’d get your stake back and have to bet again at the worse price.
Which should you choose
Start with why you like the bet. If it’s the pitching matchup, listing the pitchers makes sense, because you don’t want the bet to stand when that matchup doesn’t happen.
- List both pitchers if your read depends on the full matchup.
- List only your team’s pitcher if a change on the other side wouldn’t change your mind, or might even help you.
- Take action if you’re betting the team rather than the pitcher, for example because of the lineup or the bullpen, and you’re fine with the bet standing whoever starts.
Whatever you pick, check the probable pitchers on MLB.com before you bet, and look again close to first pitch. Probable starters can change right up to game time.
Pitcher props are separate
Bets on a pitcher’s own numbers, such as strikeouts, follow each book’s prop rules. At Bovada, the player must start for those bets to have action. Our guide to sports betting rules covers how voids and no-action bets work more generally, and our baseball totals guide covers shopping for the best number.
Bovada is an offshore book with no US state license, and it doesn’t take players from 19 states and Washington, DC. If you live in a state with legal online sportsbooks, a state-licensed book gives you more protection. Our Bovada review covers the risks.
Bovada lets you choose listed pitchers or action on MLB moneylines. Check which one your bet slip shows before you confirm.
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Sources
- Bovada help center: What is a Moneyline?, What are Totals (Over/Under)?, Game segments, Baseball betting rules
- Bovada community: Baseball: Action or Listed?
- FanDuel: Sportsbook house rules (Indiana)
- Borgata Online: Baseball wager types and rules
- MLB.com: Probable pitchers