MLB No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Odds & Picks: Saturday (8/17)
Saturday brings along another full MLB slate of games as we dive into the top No Runs First Inning (NRFI) picks for today. As you place your baseball bets today, check out these MLB picks and predictions. For Saturday, we have one NRFI pick and one Yes Runs First Inning (YRFI) play. Without further ado, below are my favorite NRFI plays for Saturday, August 17th. Note that odds may change before the first pitch.
- MLB NRFI/YRFI Cheat Sheet - Team View
- MLB NRFI/YRFI Cheat Sheet - Matchup View
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- MLB Consensus Odds
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Saturday’s Best MLB No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Picks
(All odds courtesy DraftKings Sportsbook)
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Starting Pitchers: Bobby Miller vs. Andre Pallante
Our first pick today features a National League showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. The pitching matchup of Bobby Miller vs. Andre Pallante doesn't scream NRFI right away, but there are some reasons to bet on a scoreless first inning.
Tyler Glasnow was supposed to start for the Dodgers but was placed on the injured list (IL) on Friday night. In his place, Bobby Miller will get the start. The right-hander has an ugly 8.07 ERA in seven starts this season and doesn't exactly offer much confidence. Still, Miller has tossed a scoreless first inning in four of his last five starts spanning Triple-A and the majors. He also has a 10-4 NRFI record overall this year between seven MLB outings and seven minor-league starts.
Meanwhile, Andre Pallante has been very effective in beginning starts on the other side. He's tossed a scoreless first inning in 11 of his 12 starts for the Cardinals thus far, including in 10 straight. Pallante is also allowing just a .128 batting average and .356 OPS in his opening frames.
Although the Dodgers' top of the order can be very dangerous, it's hard to argue with Pallante's NRFI track record. At least Miller should keep the Cardinals scoreless early on. Grab the NRFI in this Saturday night matchup and hope Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman all go down quietly.
Bet: NRFI (-115)
Cleveland Guardians vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Starting Pitchers: Tanner Bibee vs. Freddy Peralta
For our second play today, let's target a YRFI and root for first-inning runs between the Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers. This should be a fun interleague matchup of two division leaders and the scoring could start early for both.
Tanner Bibee starts for Cleveland with a solid 3.39 ERA this season. However, the right-hander has some concerning first-inning trends. Bibee began the year with an impressive 11-1 NRFI record over his first 12 starts. Since then, though, he's allowed a first-inning run in seven of his last 11 outings, including in five of his last eight starts. Overall, Bibee has allowed 12 first-inning runs across 23 starts.
We saw similar late-season regression in Bibee's first-inning success last year. He started with a 7-0 NRFI mark but then went 10-8 the rest of the way. The Milwaukee offense, meanwhile, is crushing right-handed pitching in August with a .367 wOBA, 136 wRC+ and .853 OPS. The Brewers also boast a .411 wOBA, 167 wRC+ and .988 OPS against right-handers in the first inning since the All-Star break. Bibee has allowed a first-inning run in four of his last six road outings, too.
On the other side, we have Freddy Peralta on the mound for Milwaukee. Like Bibee, he has some worrisome opening frame numbers and trends. Peralta has a horrendous 6.38 ERA in the first inning this year with an .850 OPS against and 17 runs allowed across 24 starts. He's allowed a first-inning run in five of his last eight starts with a pedestrian 15-9 NRFI record this season.
Peralta has also been struggling overall lately with a 4.82 ERA and 5.59 FIP over his past seven starts. Though the Cleveland offense doesn't have strong numbers against right-handed pitching lately, this is more of a fade of Peralta based on his weak first-inning track record. Take the YRFI in this one.
Bet: YRFI (-105)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Saturday: