Caleb Wilfinger
The MLB season continues on Friday, and the 2025 campaign has already produced a lot of exciting action on the diamond. While there are plenty of ways to wager on all of the action this season, one of the quickest bets you can make is if a run will be scored in the first inning — YRFI or NRFI. There is still value to be had in this market, so it’s no wonder that these bets have become very popular over time. If you don’t like sweating out your wagers for 3 hours, this one will take only about 15 minutes.
The NRFI/YRFI market has been profitable for our MLB handicapping team this season, so let’s keep that momentum going! Here are today’s MLB YRFI/NRFI best bet, and don’t forget to check out our MLB picks for all of today’s games.
YRFI/NRFI best bet: Orioles vs Yankees – NRFI (-105)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -115.
Our MLB best bet in the YRFI/NRFI market takes us to New York for a matchup between the Orioles and Yankees from Yankee Stadium. This is a battle where both pitchers should be in position for early success, especially given what we’ve seen from each of them this season. With that in mind, I’m anticipating that the starters will have the early edge in this game, which is why I’m targeting the NRFI on Friday.
Baltimore will go with Tomoyuki Sugano (3.38 ERA, 4.3% walk rate, top 30 percentile in hard hit rate) on the mound for this game, and the Orioles right-hander certainly has his work cut out for him on the road. However, Sugano did perform well against New York in his lone previous matchup against the Yankees this season, tossing 5 scoreless innings while striking out 8 in the process. On the other side, Max Fried has been one of the best starters in the game this season, and that should carry over into this contest against an Orioles lineup that is 23rd in on-base percentage and 19th in OPS. All things considered, let’s look for a scoreless first inning in the Bronx.
YRFI/NRFI best bet: Red Sox vs Giants – NRFI (-120)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -130.
For our second best bet in this market, let’s head out to the Bay Area for a showdown between the Red Sox and Giants. Much of the buzz around this game is going to center around Rafael Devers playing his first game against the Red Sox since he was traded from Boston less than a week ago. However, the real focus should be the pitching matchup, as both starters enter this game with some serious momentum following their recent outings.
Boston will turn to right-hander Hunter Dobbins, who has allowed just 6 runs over his last 4 outings, including an outstanding effort against the Yankees last weekend. As for the hosts, San Francisco is handing the ball off to Hayden Birdsong, who holds a 2.79 ERA and has been especially effective at home, where he’s surrendered just 5 runs over 15.1 innings pitched. Ultimately, given the prowess of both starters, the NRFI is the only way I can look in this one.
