Quality start

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In the statistics of the team sport baseball, a quality start is awarded to a starting pitcher who completes at least six innings and permits no more than three earned runs. Developed by sportswriter John Lowe^{[citation needed]}, the statistic is preferred by sabermetricians to that of winning percentage—the number of wins garnered by a pitcher as a fraction of his total starts—insofar as it acts independent of such factors beyond a pitcher's control as fielding errors, blown saves, and poor run support.

A quality start may also be categorized as a game score of 50 points or more, although the definitions do not square exactly.

ESPN.com uses the term "Cheap win" for a win in a non-quality start, and "Tough loss" for a loss in a quality start.