Baseball Instruction/Qualifying for a win

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Expert: - 5/2/2007


Question
How many innings does a starting pitcher need to pitch to be eligible for a win? Lets say if Andy Pettitte started the game, and lasted for only 2 innings, but left with a 3 to 1 lead, and the game ended with that same score. Would he get a win?

Answer
Nathan,

The starting pitcher must pitch 5 innings in order to qualify for the win in a major league game.  The only exception is if a game is rained out and is only five innings long.  Then the starting pitcher must pitch at least four innings.

There are exceptions for the All-Star game, exhibitions and the like.

Hope this helps!

Brian

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Brian Flaspohler

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Questions about baseball rules, general information about the game, statistical analysis, questions about players, questions about Baseball records. I am a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and a lifelong baseball fanatic. Don't ask me questions about training - this is not my area of expertise.

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