Air quality and rain caused a big of a disturbance in some of this weekend’s Major League Baseball games, but we still have a wide array of games to choose from with regards to our MLB no runs first inning (NRFI) picks. We are over .500 on the season with our NRFI picks and are looking to steer closer to turning profits with another three-pack of plays. Though we’re on the wrong side of the juice for some of these plays, the most important thing is that they’re winning wagers, as any 2-1 day would turn a profit.
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Sunday’s Best MLB No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Picks
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | Season: 24-22 (-2.66 units, -5.8% ROI)
Chicago White Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Starting Pitchers: Sean Burke vs. Trey Yesavage
Trey Yesavage has seemed to turn a corner when pitching at the Rogers Centre, as he following up three straight home starts with five-plus earned runs allowed with back-to-back starts allowing just one earned run in a combined 12.1 innings. He has earned the win in half of his eight home starts, while pitching to a .198 OBA in that split.
The White Sox have outscored their opponents 36-6 since Munetaka Murakami returned from injury, but he the Japanese rookie slugger has contributed little to that offensive success. Murakami is just 3-for-18 with nine strikeouts in his five games played since the end of May.
Trey Yesavage had serious control issues with seven walks in his last start. But he did only allow one hit prior to being removed after 59 pitches, and has now allowed four or fewer hits in 10 of his previous 12 starts. That feat has him ranked in the 92nd percentile in xBA, and opponents are batting just .203 and .113 against his two primary pitches (4-seam fastball and split finger) which he throws a combined 75.3% of the time.
Pick: NRFI (-113)
Washington Nationals vs. Athletics
Starting Pitchers: Foster Griffin vs. Jacob Lopez
The Athletics entered the weekend with a collective ERA 9.32 over a 10-game losing streak. They also became the first team in the modern era with a 10-game span with an OPS as low as .575 and an OPS allowed as high as 1.019. Thus, I am choosing to fade their pitching instead of their poor hitting with this YRFI play, especially when facing a Nationals team that has the highest-scoring offense in the Majors.
Jacob Lopez has allowed an OPS 193 points higher to right-handed batters than lefties, but I’m overlooking that split with the wealth of power hitters that are atop the Nationals lineup like James Wood and CJ Abrams.
Yes, Foster Griffin is one of two Nationals pitchers with seven consecutive starts of one run allowed or fewer in franchise history (excluding openers). But even he might not be immune to giving up runs at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park, so I’m ignoring the fact that he is on a nine-game NRFI streak.
The 14-run win for the A's tonight is the largest victory by any MLB team to snap a 10+ game losing streak since May 24, 1955, when the Pirates snapped their 11-game skid by the same 15-1 score.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 19, 2026
Pick: YRFI (-154)
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees
Starting Pitchers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Cam Schlittler
This was supposed to be the starting pitching matchup for Sunday night on the nationally televised NBC game, but the Yankees followed suit and matched Schlitter up in the early game once the Dodgers revealed Yamamoto would start the first game of the doubleheader.
The Yankees have three consecutive NRFIs from a batting perspective, and Yamamoto has turned in five consecutive scoreless first innings. Schlittler is 17-3 on the NRFI himself, so we’re getting a great number with this wager given that the current AL Cy Young Award favorite is toeing the rubber.
Pick: NRFI (-120)
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.