Happy Saturday people! Baseball is finally back, and we have all 30 teams playing this Saturday, March 30th. The return of baseball gives us the return of the NRFI bet, which gained popularity a couple of years ago. If you’re unfamiliar, the NRFI stands for No Runs First Inning, and can all be lost with the swing of a bat. It’s a fun way to start off watching an MLB game, but it shouldn’t take up too much of your bankroll. Here’s my favorite NRFI look for today’s slate.
Saturday’s Best MLB No Runs First Inning Picks
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Milwaukee Brewers @ New York Mets
Starting Pitchers: DL Hall vs. Luis Severino
Kick off your Saturday with some day baseball with these teams squaring off in the pitching-friendly confines of Citi Field. Since 2021, the Mets home field has been rated as the third-best pitcher’s park. The weather reports of this one call for winds of 15-20 MPH winds coming in from left-center field in this one too, dampening the bats even more.
With a righty on the hill, it will likely be Sal Frelick, Willam Contreras, and Christian Yelich at the top of the lineup, with Rhys Hoskins, and Willy Adames behind them. That’s not exactly murderer’s row. Frelick is the only one who has yet to face Luis Severino, and aside from Adames, the rest have only had a couple of plate appearances against him. Sevy has gone from one side of New York to the other and is looking to get his career back on track in orange and blue. Spring Training numbers are always a bit silly to cite, but it’s all we have so far, and Severino did well, allowing just two runs with 12 strikeouts across 14 innings of work. Typically, pitchers have the upper hand early on in the season, and given Severino’s solid spring, he should be able to hold Milwaukee in check in the first.
The Brewers send out the top prospect whom Baltimore traded for Corbin Burnes. This will be Hall’s second career start, and every baseball nerd is excited to see what he will bring to the table. He’s a hard-throwing lefty with a four-pitch mix. In his final spring outing he fired five innings of two-run ball while striking out four. If he can find the zone, he should be able to stifle to top of this Mets lineup, considering nobody on their team has ever faced him.
Bet: NRFI (-110)
