Win–loss record (pitching)

In baseball, a pitcher is credited with a win when, in a game won by his team, he is the team's pitcher at the time that his team takes a lead that it does not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

An exception to this is that a pitcher who starts a game but does not pitch at least five innings cannot be credited with a win. If his team takes a lead it does not relinquish while that pitcher is in the game, the win is awarded to the relieving pitcher who, in the judgment of the scorer, pitched the most effectively. The winning pitcher cannot be a pitcher who is credited with a save in the same game.

Every game has a winning and a losing pitcher.