Top MLB No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Picks & Odds for Thursday, June 2nd (2022)
This afternoon, Major League Baseball action gets underway at 1:05 p.m. ET with a doubleheader in the Bronx. The Angels and Yankees were rained out yesterday and will take the field for two today. Meanwhile, the Mets head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers, who the Pirates just swept in three games. Yep, you read that correctly – the Pittsburgh Pirates swept the mighty LA Dodgers in California. This afternoon, a couple of other notable matchups include the Blue Jays looking to sweep the White Sox out of Ontario and the Padres opening a four-game set with the Brewers in Milwaukee.
I’m locking in three No Runs First Inning (NRFI) wagers for today’s 12-game slate:
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees (Game One)
The Bronx Bombers won 9-1 in the series opener on Tuesday night, while game two was rained out last night. The Angels will look to bounce back in game one of the doubleheader as they send Shohei Ohtani to the bump while the Yankees counter with Nestor Cortes. Game one’s set for 1:05 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium.
The 2021 AL MVP has performed well for the most part when toeing the rubber this season. Ohtani’s 3-3 over eight starts with a 3.45 ERA and 1.04 WHIP entering today’s matchup with the Yankees. In six of his eight starts, the Japanese-born star has limited his opponents to two runs or less. Although, that wasn’t the case last time out, as the right-hander was touched up for five earned runs over 6.0 innings against the Blue Jays on Thursday.
As for Nestor Cortes, he’s been arguably the best pitcher in baseball to start the 2022 season. The lefty has made nine starts, and he’s 4-1 with a 1.70 ERA and 0.85 WHIP over 53.0 innings. His ERA and WHIP are second and third amongst qualified pitchers, respectively. Cortes was once again dynamite in his last outing, limiting the Rays to one earned run over 8.0 innings in a winning effort. New York has won four straight Cortes starts and sits at 7-2 when he heads to the mound.
There are some potent bats at the top of each of these lineups; thus, we see the oddsmakers set this NRFI bet as basically a coin flip. I’ll take those odds all day, considering Nestor Cortes’s form right now. The left-hander is on a Cy Young pace through nine starts this year, and he’s held Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani to 0-5 in head-to-head at-bats in his career. As for Ohtani, he has the strikeout stuff to work around the top of the Yankees’ order in the 1st. He’s struck out 63 batters this season, and that’s the 12th-most in the Majors. Let’s take a shot with NRFI in the day’s opening game.
Bet: Angels at Yankees NRFI (-105 via FanDuel)
Chicago White Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays
The injury-ridden White Sox are looking to avoid the brooms this afternoon as they send Johnny Cueto to the bump. As for the Blue Jays, they’ll go with Alek Manoah as they look for their eighth straight win. They’re putting it all together and quietly closing the gap on the Yankees in the AL East (5.0 GB). This one gets underway at 3:07 p.m. ET from Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Cueto has exceeded expectations since getting called up for the White Sox in the middle of May. The veteran right-hander has made three starts and posted an 0-1 record with a 2.41 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 18.2 innings. His first two starts were scoreless quality starts against the Royals and Yankees, while he was touched up for five earned runs against the Cubs in his most recent outing. Cueto allowed nine hits and three walks while striking out two batters in the losing effort.
I mentioned that Nestor Cortes is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Well, Alek Manoah and the Toronto fanbase would like to have a word. The right-hander is 5-1 on the year with a 1.77 ERA (3rd) and 0.91 WHIP (6th) over nine starts. This season, Manoah has been brilliant for the Jays, posting eight quality starts in nine outings. He recently took a no-decision against the Angels but limited Los Angeles to three runs (two earned) over 6.0 innings while striking out a season-high nine batters.
Manoah gets even better when throwing at home, lowering his ERA to 1.33 over four starts. In addition, he’s held the current White Sox lineup to just 6-23 (.261) and given up no extra-base hits. As for Johnny Cueto, will we see him continue to perform at a high level this late in his career? I don’t know. I’m not entirely sold yet, considering he’s only made three starts since getting called up this season. But it’s worth mentioning that his road ERA is 0.00 over two starts spanning 12.0 innings in 2022. I’ll lock in NRFI for this matinee matchup north of the border.
Bet: White Sox at Blue Jays NRFI (-115 via FanDuel)
San Diego Padres vs. Milwaukee Brewers
It’s been a tough start to the road trip for the Friars as they just lost three straight games to the Cardinals. They’ll look to bounce back as they open a four-game set with the Brewers in Milwaukee tonight. Sean Manaea looks to get San Diego back in the win column while Milwaukee opts for Adrian Houser.
Manaea has been serviceable for the Padres this season, posting a 2-3 record with a 4.02 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over nine starts. The southpaw last threw on Friday against the Pirates, limiting them to three earned runs over 7.0 innings of work. He issued three free passes and gave up four hits in the no-decision effort.
As for Houser, he’s gone 3-5 over nine starts for the Crew with a 3.69 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. In his last start on Saturday, he was tagged for eight runs (five earned) over 4.0 innings against the Cardinals. Milwaukee moved to 3-6 in his starts, and they’ve lost four straight Houser starts.
Keeping it with Houser, it’s worth noting that he’s always been a guy who prefers to throw at home. The right-hander sees his ERA drop to 1.99 when pitching in Milwaukee, and opponents hit just .200 against him there. Additionally, he faced the Friars on May 23rd of this season and held them to just one earned run over 6.0 innings. Manaea didn’t pitch in that series but has limited the Brewers to 1-12 (0.67) over his career in at-bats against Andrew McCutchen, Omar Narvaez, and Mike Brosseau. This season, Milwaukee has also struggled against lefties, posting a .648 OPS (24th) and .209 batting average (30th) against LHP. Let’s take NRFI in this matchup to round out today’s card.
Bet: Padres at Brewers NRFI (-120 via FanDuel)
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