MLB picks Saturday 8/26: YRFI & NRFI best bets today: Perez continues to rise towards superstardom

Don’t like sitting around for the entirety of a baseball game to watch your bet cash? Well then, the YRFI/NRFI market may be your new favorite betting strategy. Just reserve about 10 to 15 minutes to watch the first inning and forget about the other eight. We have all 30 teams in action today, starting in Detroit and coming to an end in Arizona. So, let’s get right into it, and don’t forget to check out our MLB picks on the side and total for every game today.

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Washington Nationals vs Miami Marlins: NRFI (-115)

It’s pretty wild to say, but the Washington Nationals are one of the hottest teams in baseball. They’ve gone 15-6 since August 2 and have dug themselves out from last place in the NL East, now occupied by the New York Mets. This afternoon, rookie right-hander Jake Irvin will take the ball for his 20th start, owning a 4.47 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. The numbers won’t blow anyone off their feet, but Irvin has pitched some of his best games of the season over his last 3 outings. In those 3 starts, Irvin posted a 2.65 ERA and he’s gone 5 consecutive starts without allowing a first-inning run.

The Marlins counter with an up-and-coming superstar in 20-year-old Eury Perez. Perez is making his 15th start of the season for Miami with a 2.91 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. At one point this season, Perez allowed 1 earned run across a 33-inning span, putting on full display why he’s the real deal. Obviously, Perez has come back down to Earth, but it’s not to say he’s just your average starting pitcher. Perez’s strikeout rate and whiff percentage both rank in the 90th percentile or better and he’s fresh off a 6.0-inning, 10 strikeout shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers. If he can shut down the hottest team in baseball, he can toss a scoreless first against the Marlins.

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Houston Astros vs Detroit Tigers: YRFI (-110)

The Astros and Tigers game yesterday had a little bit of everything. 6.1 innings of 1-hit ball from Matt Manning as the Astros were 1-hit for the game. 7.0 innings of no-hit ball from Framber Valdez. 2 home run robberies. And everyone’s favorite – a walk-off home run off the bat of Parker Meadows. To add to the drama, it was Meadow’s first career MLB home run since his callup on August 21. I believe some of that excitement is going to carry over into today’s matchup and it won’t take each team as long to get on the board.

The Tigers may have won yesterday’s game, but they didn’t record their first hit until the eighth inning. They rank 29th in runs scored, 24th in home runs, 28th in batting average, and 29th in OPS. Those season rankings have slightly improved when isolated to the month of August, which explains why the Tigers are 10-6 over their last 16 games. They’ll have a very favorable matchup today when they go up against struggling, right-hander Hunter Brown. Through 23 starts and 24 appearances, Brown owns a 4.50 ERA along with a hard-hit rate in the 13th percentile. Recently, Brown is going through an extremely rough stretch and has a 7.02 ERA in his last 4 starts. Detroit counters with Eduardo Rodriguez and it’s difficult to criticize anything he’s done to this point. Through 19 starts, Rodriguez boasts a career-best 3.03 ERA and has seemingly been on autopilot for most of the season. What I can say however, is that the Astros are one of the most lethal lineups against left-handed pitching, regardless of who toes the rubber. They rank 3rd in OPS against left-handed pitching and I could envision some early runs.

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