MLB Wild Card No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Picks & Predictions: Rays vs. Guardians (10/8)
Below we’ve listed one of our top No Runs First Inning (NRFI) bets for Saturday’s four-game MLB Wild Card slate: Rays vs. Guardians.
Odds Courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.
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MLB Wild Card No Runs First Inning (NRFI) Picks & Predictions
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians picked up a 2-1 victory in the series opener yesterday behind a dominant pitching performance from Shane Bieber. The 2020 Cy Young winner lasted 7.2 innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits and a walk. Cleveland will look to close out the series this afternoon as they send Triston McKenzie to the bump. Tampa Bay turns to Tyler Glasnow in this Wild Card showdown set for 12:07 p.m. ET from Ohio.
Glasnow’s only made two starts this season but that was essentially the plan all along. The right-hander had Tommy John Surgery last August and most experts speculated that he’d be able to recover just in time for Tampa Bay’s 2022 postseason. Glasnow’s 0-0 over the two outings with a 1.35 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 10 punchouts (6.2 IP). The lone run that he gave up was a home run to Gabriel Arias when he started against Cleveland on September 28th.
Interestingly, McKenzie also started that game and went 6.0 innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits and a walk. It was a 2-1 ballgame that Cleveland won in the 10th inning. The right-hander finished the 2022 campaign with an 11-11 record to go along with a 2.96 ERA (19th) and 0.95 WHIP (5th).
These two franchises are built on pitching so I feel pretty comfortable locking in NRFI in this matchup. As for the head-to-head numbers, the Rays are just 7-42 (.167) against McKenzie while the Guardians are only 3-20 (.150) against Glasnow. This pitching matchup combined with these two mediocre offenses makes me think we’re in for a repeat of yesterday’s pitching duel. Let’s roll with NRFI in Cleveland this afternoon.
Bet: Rays at Guardians NRFI (-160 via Caesars)
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