We couldn’t get back-to-back sweeps on our NRFI picks and finished Tuesday going 1-1. Wednesday’s slate of games features a TON of Cy Young-caliber arms, which means it’s NRFI SZN. I have my two best NRFI bets today for you in this article but have a third no run first inning pick for Wednesday. If you want to find out where I’m going for that last NRFI today, make sure to check out my NRFI Picks video on our OddsShopper YouTube Channel.
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
San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates | YRFI & NRFI Bets Today
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Blake Snell returns for the Giants tonight to square off against young budding ace Jared Jones in PNC Park tonight.
Snell hasn’t pitched since April 19 and has been on the shelf with an adductor strain.
I generally don’t like to trust guys coming off the IL, but I’m willing to bend the rules for a guy like Snell, especially given the matchup.
The 11.57 ERA in three starts doesn’t bother me since he was pitching hurt, and Snell was still 2-1 on NRFIs in those outings.
Pittsburgh is tied for 21st in first inning run percentage and has been NRFI’d in 77.6% of its games this season.
Snell is a true ace with some of the best strikeout stuff in the game, so we know he has the gas in the tank to get the outs without having a ball put in play.
As for Jones, well, he’s 8-1 on his no run first inning opportunities this season, and the only team to touch him up was the Cubs. It took a Cody Bellinger homer in the first inning to do so.
Pretty impressive for the rookie.
Jones might very well be the younger, right-handed version of Snell, exemplified by the ridiculous Statcast data on his Baseball Savant page.
The combination of chase rate, whiff rate and strikeout rate that Jones possesses right now is otherworldly and underscores why he’s been so incredibly difficult for batters to get a read on.
He’s racked up 63 strikeouts in 53 innings, but the limited number of walks has been equally — if not more — impressive.
Jones has already gotten a NRFI against the Giants once this season, and I see no reason he can’t again tonight.
With a couple of studs on the mound tonight in Pittsburgh, we’re liable to see upwards of four or five strikeouts between the two of them in the first inning and hopefully a sweat-free cash on this NRFI bet today.
YRFI & NRFI Bets Today: Giants-Pirates NRFI (-129 at BetRivers)
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Miami Marlins | YRFI & NRFI Bets Today
If it’s a day ending in Y when our NRFI King, Lord and Savior Jesus Luzardo is on the mound, we’re going to be firing that up as one of the best NRFI bets that day.
It would be blasphemous not to. We can’t disrespect our king like that!
Tonight, the NRFI GOAT is on the bump against a pretty good Milwaukee Brewers lineup, so it might be a tough matchup.
But you know what they say: If you come at the king, you best not miss.
Our king? Well, he hasn’t missed yet. Luzardo is a PERFECT 7-0 on NRFIs this season, including cashing a string of NRFIs against the Yankees, Braves, Cubs and Phillies — a murderer’s row of offenses.
Luzardo just knows how to pitch in the first inning with his electric stuff and get the strikeouts when he needs it.
Freddy Peralta comes in looking for some redemption after getting blown up by the Astros in his last start, and he should be able to find his way to success here.
Despite getting worked in his last outing, he still managed to cash the NRFI, and he’s 8-1 overall on no run first inning bets this season.
The Marlins have been NRFI’d in 78% of their games this year and have struggled to generate offense against right-handed pitching — third worst in wRC and fifth worst in wRC+.
We’re looking at a projected total of only 7.5 runs here, and this might actually drop to 7.0 by first pitch, mostly based on how well Luzardo has been pitching and how poor this Marlins offense has been.
We trust our king, and we trust the process of targeting bad teams to not score runs in the first. It was always the NRFI bet in this one.
YRFI & NRFI Bets Today: Brewers-Marlins NRFI (-130 at ESPN BET)
