Well, it was another good day for us here in best NRFI bets article. We finished Monday’s NRFI bets going 2-1 overall: cashing the Cubs-Rockies NRFI and Blue Jays-Astros YRFI. The Orioles tried to gift wrap the Royals a first-inning run with two errors but they refused to take advantage of it, so we fell just short of a sweep.
But, we had an absolute SMASH night in our OddsShopper Discord. We correlated the Anthony Santander +100 hits+ runs + RBIs prop and Ryan Mountcastle +850 home run prop with the projected YRFI in that game, and though we didn’t cash the YRFI, it paid for the entire night.
That’s just one of the many perks of being inside the ropes as a member of the OddsShopper Discord, you get all of my bets, not just these daily no run first inning bets.
So, if you want to come check out the discord and hang out, you can join here, and use promo code NATHAN for 20% off your first week or month.
Now let’s get to my top two YRFI and NRFI bets today for Tuesday, April 2. If you’re hungry for more, check out our MLB betting tools or our other MLB articles! Also, check out our guide to NRFI & YRFI betting.
NRFI & YRFI Bets Today: Best No & Yes Run First Inning Picks
Cleveland Guardians vs Seattle Mariners | NRFI & YRFI Bets Today
We start out west tonight with two strong right-handed pitchers in Shane Bieber and Luis Castillo when the Guardians face the Mariners.
This game features a projected total of 7 runs, which is the the lowest on the entire slate of games today.
These guys couldn’t have been more polar opposites in their first starts of the year. Bieber was electric with 11 strikeouts in 6 innings, and Castillo was touched up for 6 hits, 4 runs and a homer in 5 innings.
Castillo is a power pitcher who throws about 53% fastballs, 17.5% sinkers and 16.5% changeups. Outsides of Jose Ramirez, the top of the Guardians lineup struggles against four-seamers, sinkers and is middle of the pack against changeups. No surprise, Ramirez is a unique talent.
So, if Castillo can navigate his way around Ramirez in the top half of the first, it could be a pretty easy first three outs we’re looking at, before handing the ball off to Shane Bieber in the bottom half.
Bieber doesn’t feature the same type of velocity that Castillo does, but he does feature a lot of the same pitch mix. He relies heavily on establishing his four-seamer (44.5%), but his secondary pitch is his slider (24.1%) and will mix in a changeup as well (15.7%).
The top of the Mariners order really likes to sit on fastballs, so if I’m reading the scouting report correctly, we’ll likely see Bieber rely a lot more on the slider here, as JP Crawford, Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco are far less effective against the slider than they are the four-seamer.
YRFI & NRFI Bets Today: Guardians-Mariners NRFI (-120 Caesars)
Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays | NRFI & YRFI Bets Today
There are times when you will look around at the odds of some of these no run first inning and yes run first inning bets, and you will see WILD discrepancies across different books.
Today was one of those days for me when I was poking my little nose around. I saw the YRFI juiced as high as -130 in some spots. So, when I found a -106 at BetRivers (it no longer lives, but you can get it at -110 at ESPN), I jumped on it.
But, let’s talk about WHY I jumped on that Rangers-Rays YRFI.
The yes run first inning bet looks good here for a few reasons:
- Rangers have IMMENSE pop at the top of their oder
- Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia CRUSH Zach Eflin‘s best pitch mix
- Andrew Heaney career vs RH: .465 SLG, .776 OPS, 135 HRs
- Rays have notorious CRUSHERS of lefties in Yandy Diaz, Harold Ramirez, Randy Arozarena, etc.
We know that these two offenses have the ability to put up runs, especially this Texas offense with the power it possesses in Seager and Garcia.
However, Heaney throws mostly four-seamers and sliders, and Harold Ramirez absolute nukes that pitch combo. So, if you want to get spicy and throw a side bet down on Ramirez, check out his home run prop at +800 on FanDuel.
A lot of this yes run first inning bet comes down to value, and I couldn’t pass it up at -106, and I still think we shouldn’t be passing it on it at -110. So, fire up the YRFI here, and let’s watch Seager hit his first home run in the top of the first here to cash this ticket for us.
YRFI & NRFI Bets Today: Rangers-Rays YRFI (-110 ESPN Bet)
If you’re looking for other ways to play, why don’t you check out some of the best daily MLB DFS picks in the industry?
