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MLB No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Prop Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (7/22)

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Here are our favorite NRFI prop bets for Saturday’s slate.

Saturday’s Best No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Bets

Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees

Brady Singer vs. Gerrit Cole

If I told you at the beginning of the season that the Kansas City Royals would have a higher team batting average than the New York Yankees, would you believe me? Probably not, but here we are, at the end of July, and the Royals as a team are batting .232 while the Bronx Bombers are batting .229. Only the Oakland Athletics have a worse batting average than the Yankees.

Not only are these teams in the cellar of batting average, but they both rank in the bottom ten in wOBA, wRC+, and ISO over the past 30 days.

Losing Aaron Judge has a lot to do with the Yankees sitting dead last in the A.L. East for the first time since 1990. My point is both of these teams are bad, and if Singer can get a quick three outs, then we should have no problem cashing in this NRFI. 

Don’t overthink this one. Fade two bad offenses and take the NRFI.

Bet: NRFI (-130)

Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins

Dylan Cease vs. Sonny Gray

These two starting pitchers are trending in opposite directions.

Dylan Cease, after a shaky start to 2023, has settled down and shown signs of his dominant self from last season. Towards the end of April, Cease had six straight starts where he gave up three or more earned runs while never eclipsing the six-strikeout mark.

Fast forward to months, and now Cease has allowed three earned runs just once over his seven starts while striking out at least six batters in five of those games. 

As for Sonny Gray, he looked like the 2023 Cy Young Award Winner for most of the first half of the season. He started his 2023 season on fire. Through the first two months of the season, Gray was 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA. Over Gray's last two months, he is 0-4 with a 4.60 ERA.

It seems like right-handed pitchers are the White Sox’s kryptonite. As a team, Chicago ranks in the bottom in OBP, wOBA, and wRC+ and owns the 11th-highest K% against RHP.

The Twins fare a bit better against righties as they rank above league average in those same categories. But they have struggled against Dylan Cease in the past. Among active Twins players, they have combined to hit .189 against Cease. Of the Twins' players with at least 10 at-bats, only Max Kepler has had some success against Cease, going 6 for 22 with three home runs. 

Bet: NRFI (-125)

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Saturday:


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