Toronto Blue Jays 1B Vladimir Guerrero's power outage has been widely publicized, but he may have a matchup to do some damage against and dent the Green Monster in Fenway Park vs. the Boston Red Sox. The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are slated to start a couple of aging hurlers with ugly ERAs. The Los Angeles Angels and the Athletics present our lone NRFI pick.
We have an abbreviated, nine-game schedule Thursday. Four of those games start before dinner time, so get those bets in early.
All odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change. DraftKings does not sponsor this content.
Best NRFI and YRFI Bets Today
Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox YRFI (-110)
We love the YRFI here despite two talented starters slated to go. RHP Trey Yesavage is 3-3 with a 3.78 ERA on the season. He has a 3.00 ERA in the first inning this season. What really moves the needle is Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray, who is 8-1 with a 3.03 ERA. He has given up a run in the first in each of his last four starts and has a 5.25 ERA in the first through 13 starts.
New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies YRFI (-130)
Mets LHP Sean Manaea is 1-2 with a 4.78 ERA on the season. He has only pitched in the first inning once this season, and he kept it clean, but he has had issues in just about every other inning. Phils RHP Aaron Nola is also having a down season at 3-4 with a 5.86 ERA. He has allowed three-plus runs in 10 of his 14 starts. With both pitchers having bad years, the YRFI is the way to go here in a hitters' park.
Los Angeles Angels at Athletics NRFI (+115)
Angels standout RHP Jose Soriano is 8-4 with a 2.79 ERA. He has been decent in the first frame with a 3.60 ERA. The A's throw 23-year-old lefty Gage Jump, who's making his fifth start. He's 2-1 with a 3.09 ERA on the season. He has allowed just one earned run in four first frames this season. These two should keep it clean for us to cash an NRFI.
What Does NRFI and YRFI Mean in Baseball?
The term NRFI indicates no runs scored in the first inning. Its opposite, YRFI, indicates yes, a run will be scored in the first inning. It doesn't matter if the run qualifies as an earned run or not. If a run crosses the plate in the first inning for either team, the wager loses for the NRFI side and wins for the YRFI side.
