Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game schedule on Saturday. It includes Reds vs Phillies, Cardinals vs Cubs, Yankees vs Mets and Astros vs Dodgers. The YRFI/NRFI market is extremely popular in baseball betting. After all, you don’t have to sit around for 3 hours to see if your wager hits; the satisfaction (or in some cases disappointment) is immediate. It all comes down to the first inning.
I have been in fine form so far this season, with a 45-33-2 record on best bets while going 4-for-9 on Same Game Parlays at +481, +632, +439 and +600 odds and 8-4 on YRFI/NRFI plays. Here are my favorite YRFI/NRFI bets for Saturday, and also be sure to check out all of our MLB picks
Kansas City Royals vs Arizona Diamondbacks: YRFI (-111)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
Arizona is one of the best YRFI teams in baseball. It ranks fourth in that department, scoring a run in the first inning more than 30 percent of the time. The Diamondbacks should have a good chance of adding to that number against Royals starter Michael Wacha, who compiled a 5.40 ERA in 5 June appearances. The right-hander most recently pitched at Seattle on Tuesday and surrendered 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 5.0 innings.
Several Arizona batters have enjoyed success against Wacha over the years. Geraldo Perdomo is 3-for-4 with a double and a triple; Eugenio Suarez is 15-for-36 with 2 home runs and 3 doubles. For Kansas City, Bobby Witt Jr. is 3-for-5 lifetime against Ryne Nelson; Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez are 3-for-6. Both teams have a decent shot at contributing to the YRFI in this one.
San Francisco Giants vs Oakland Athletics: NRFI (-105)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
Look for the bats being much quieter when the Giants and Athletics collide in Sacramento. This projects to be a nice pitching matchup between Logan Webb of the G-Men and Luis Severino of the A’s. Webb is sporting a 2.61 ERA and 127 strikeouts compared to just 24 walks in 113.2 innings. Severino has struggled of late, but he owns most of the guys near the top of San Fran’s lineup. Rafael Devers is 3-for-22 lifetime against him with nothing more than 1 double; Wilmer Flores is 0-for-9 with 3 strikeouts; Heliot Ramos is 1-for-5 and his 1 hit is a single.
San Francisco is #20 league wide in cashing the YRFI, scoring a run in the first inning in just 27.0 percent of its games. The A’s are superior (#8 at 32.2 percent), but nobody on their active roster has ever done anything against Webb and there is no reason to think they will on Saturday. Almost at even money, the NRFI has intriguing value.
