Caleb Wilfinger
The MLB season continues on Saturday, 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 bets, and don’t forget to check out our MLB picks for EVERY GAME today.
YRFI/NRFI best bet: Diamondbacks vs Rockies – YRFI (-150)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
Our first MLB best bet in the YRFI/NRFI market takes us to Colorado for a matchup between the Diamondbacks and Rockies from Coors Field. This is a battle where both offenses should be in position for early success, especially given what we’ve seen from each of them in Friday’s series opener. With that in mind, I’m anticipating that the lineups will have the early edge in this game, which is why I’m targeting the YRFI on Saturday.
The Diamondbacks’ lineup is one of the best units in the game and they will be facing off against Carson Palmquist (7.76 ERA, .561 xSLG, .410 wOBA), a pitcher who holds some of the worst advanced metrics among all qualified pitchers this season. On the other side, Merrill Kelly has been mostly solid for Arizona to this point — but his expected metrics do suggest that he’s due for a bit of regression in his upcoming starts. Facing off against a suddenly hot Rockies lineup in a hitter-friendly park is not exactly ideal for a pitcher’s that performed a bit above his head recently. Let’s back the YRFI in the Rocky Mountains on Saturday.
Check out today’s MLB best bets, with our expert boasting a 29-19 record this season!
YRFI/NRFI best bet: Royals vs Padres – NRFI (-120)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -130.
For our 2nd MLB YRFI/NRFI best bet, let’s head out to San Diego for a matchup between the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres. The visitors sprung the upset by knocking off the Padres on Friday, and both offenses started off that game fairly slow. I’m looking for that to continue on Saturday, especially given the pitching matchup in this interleague contest.
Kansas City will turn to left-hander Noah Cameron, who has been rock solid in his first 7 starts as a big league pitcher — posting a 1.91 ERA to go along with a very low 5% barrel rate and .225 expected batting average. As for the home team, San Diego is handing the ball off to Dylan Cease — who seems to have turned a corner in recent outings and is now pitching closer to what his expected metrics have predicted instead of what the 4.69 ERA would suggest. Ultimately, given the recent prowess of both starters the NRFI is the only way I can look in this one.
