Well, well, well. It seems that the more things change, the more some things stay the same. And, my friends. We are SOOOO back. That’s right! We finished Opening Day going 2-1 overall on our NRFI bets! But, if you happened to watch the video that accompanied this NRFI bet article, you saw that I gave out a two-leg parlay of the Pirates-Marlins NRFI and Yankees-Astros YRFI for a sweet little +219 ticket. That puts us up almost 2 full units after Day 1 of NRFI bets. You truly do love to see it!
Now, my top two YRFI and NRFI bets today for Thursday, March 29. If you’re hungry for more, check out our MLB betting tools or our other MLB articles! Also, if you want to learn more about no run first inning bets, check out our comprehensive guide to NRFI & YRFI betting.
NRFI & YRFI Bets Today: Best No & Yes Run First Inning Picks
New York Yankees vs Houston Astros | NRFI & YRFI Bets Today
Oh, baby, what a sweaty little YRFI that was yesterday, eh? Nestor Cortes tried to wiggle his way out of trouble, but the YRFI gods rained down a wrath two-out, bases-loaded fury for arguably the best Opening Day parlay cash I’ve ever had.
The Yankees send another lefty to the mound today in Carlos Rodon, who you’d think is better than Cortes. But, if you look at the numbers … he’s kinda not.
Rodon gave up 65 hits in 64.1 innings last year and had a 1.44 WHIP. He also managed to allow 15 home runs in those 64.1 innings.
Against an Astros team that .270 against lefties a year ago (.254 vs RH), this sets up for a spot that Houston could be in line for some early offense with guys like Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman.
Cristian Javier saw his numbers PLUMMET in 2023. The fella went from a 0.9 WHIP in 2022 to a 1.26 WHIP in 2023, and gave up 25 jacks along the way.
The Yankees offense looked like it might have a chance to get something going but caught an unlucky break in the first yesterday when Aaron Judge grounded smashed a ball directly at an infielder for a double play to end the inning.
This game opened with a 9.5 projected total, so we’re looking at some possible offense here. With these two lineups having some real thunder at the top of the order, and some somewhat sketchy starters on the mound, I think we can roll with the YRFI here. Let’s root for some fun here, and hope we see a Juan Soto or Aaron Judge dong to start the game and cash this ticket fast.
YRFI & NRFI Bets Today: Yankees-Astros YRFI -125 BetMGM Promo Code
Boston Red Sox vs Seattle Mariners | NRFI Bets Today
If you’re a longtime reader, you’re probably sitting there all like “WHOA, BRO! NO! NO! Red Sox?!? Banned list! You said no Red Sox!”
Well, guess what? It’s a new year. It’s also my column, and I can do whatever the hell I want in it. So, we’re going to test out the waters early this year. And who the hell knows, maybe we do have to put the Sox back on the banned list quick?
But there’s one thing I do know. The Red Sox and Mariners are playing in a game that has a total of only 7 runs, which is pretty freakin’ low. And when I’m looking to make bets on NRFIs, I like low run totals.
Mariners starter George Kirby is a guy that isn’t really going to blow you away with strikeout-per-inning stuff, but he’s also not going to kill you. He’s not going to give out walks and let guys on base easily like some of these other schmucks. Kirby gave up only 19 walks in 190+ innings last year. And, he did manage 172 strikeouts. So it’s not like he’s incapable of getting a K if he needs one.
In fact, three of the top four hitters in the projected Red Sox lineup are lefties, which Kirby has been far better against in his career. He’s limited lefties to a .230/.261/.359 in 605 at-bats, and allowed only 14 home runs.
On the other side, Nick Pivetta has more swing-and-miss, strike-you-out type stuff. He racked up 183 of them bad boys in 142.2 innings last year, which is good for an 11.5 strikeout-per-9-inning rate. Not bad, eh?
And, my friends, there was only ONE team to strike out more than the Seattle Mariners a season ago. Yes, the M’s did make a few lineup tweaks in the offseason, but there are still plenty of strikeouts in this lineup for Pivetta to find.
If Kirby gets us to the bottom half of the first clean, I think Pivetta will be able to finish it off here for us, and get us to the window for another cash.
So, roll with the NRFI bet here today, especially with such good odds at Caesars.
YRFI & NRFI Bets Today: Red Sox-Mariners NRFI -115 Caesars
