Welcome to another beautiful day as the sun is shining, baseball is in literal full swing, and life is good. Let's bet some NRFI's! NRFI stands for No-Run First Inning. It's a popular betting market where gamblers wager on whether the first inning of an MLB game will end with zero runs scored by either team. Pretty simple. NRFI bets are the best because they're quick – sometimes you'll know the outcome within minutes. NRFI bets can provide an edge over other markets if you’ve researched. I'm here to help provide that edge. As always, shop around for the best odds and be on the lookout for lineup announcements, which can significantly impact the outcome.
Hope you listened last week as we hit a +320 Guardians first inning moneyline bet and have been straight en fuego this year. Let's dive into some games on this June 12th slate.
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Friday's Best MLB No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Picks
Last Time: 2-1 | Season: 22-9
San Diego Padres vs. Baltimore Orioles
Starting Pitchers: Griffin Canning vs. Shane Baz
Let's start in Baltimore, where the matchup (spoilers) screams first inning fireworks. Griffin Canning takes the bump for San Diego and he's been...struggling early on. The Padres starter has allowed six first inning runs in his seven starts this year, allowing two home runs and seven walks in the opening frame. He's also let up a .922 OPS to the expected top of the Orioles lineup with Gunnar Henderson homering off him in the past and Adley Rutschman seeing him well. On the other side, Shane Baz has been fine in the opening frame with seven runs allowed in 13 starts. He's struggled with control in the opening frame, however, with eight walks and a 1.62 WHIP to start the game. The Padres offense hasn't exactly been great, and that's putting it lightly. Still, Baz has been worse against lefties who he will likely face multiple of early in game and this is a ballpark that heavily favors lefties. Give me some early runs here.
Pick: YRFI (-120 at DraftKings)
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Starting Pitchers: Ryan Weathers vs. Trey Yesavage
Now we go the other direction in Toronto. Trey Yesavage vs. the Yankees is the most interesting matchup for either side. Yesavage has been solid early on with a 3.38 ERA, limiting opponents to no runs in the opening frame in five of his eight starts this year. Lefties will likely be featured at the top of the Yankees lineup and Yesavage has limited them to a .218 batting average against. Additionally, despite the Yankees ranking third in first inning runs, that lineup becomes a lot less scary with no Aaron Judge. For Ryan Weathers, this Toronto offense has been surprisingly bad to start games with the fourth fewest first inning runs. The southpaw also has reverse splits and can handle righties, who Toronto will throw at the Yankees starter early in game.
Pick: NRFI (-113 at BetRivers)
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Starting Pitchers: Andrew Painter vs. Jacob Misiorowski
Finally tonight we have some shocking odds that I'm jumping on. I'll start with the counter argument. Andrew Painter hasn't been great in the early innings if you look at his ERA but it was mostly one blow up inning. The Paintman, as I'm nicknaming him, is 9-2 at limiting first inning runs to opponents this year. Yes, the Brewers do have a top-tier offense but I still trust Painter in the first inning. The star of the year, Jacob Misiorowski, counters for Milwaukee and he's been deadly with eight straight NRFI. If you want to go crazy you can sprinkle Milwaukee first inning moneyline but I'm keeping it simple here at near even odds.
Pick: NRFI (-113 at FanDuel)
