Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball wraps up with a full 15-game schedule on Sunday. It includes Yankees vs Red Sox, Blue Jays vs Phillies, Rays vs Mets and Giants 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 36-26-2 record on best bets while going 4-for-8 on Same Game Parlays at +481, +632, +439 and +600 odds and 5-1 on YRFI/NRFI plays. Here are my favorite YRFI/NRFI bets for Sunday, and also be sure to check out all of our MLB picks
Toronto Blue Jays vs Philadelphia Phillies: NRFI (-136)
With Toronto’s Jose Berrios and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler toeing the rubber on Sunday, your immediate inclination has to be the NRFI. And that is, in fact, the way to play this matchup. Toronto, especially, should be expected to be futile in the first inning. Wheeler is 6-2 with a 2.85 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 101-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 82.0 innings. The right-hander has surrendered a first-inning run only once in 13 starts this season. There is no reason to think he will do so against the Blue Jays, who rank #25 league wide with a 24.3 first-inning run percentage.
The Phillies’ lineup is usually more dangerous, but Bryce Harper being sidelined obviously puts a huge dent in the equation. Berrios (3.38 ERA) should be able to take advantage. The righty has given up just 1 run across his last 3 appearances, spanning 18.2 innings. Unsurprisingly, all 3 of his opening frames were perfect. He just faced the Phillies on June 4 and held them to 1 run in 6.0 innings. There is no need to overthink this one; let’s go with the NRFI on a -136 line that is very reasonable.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs: YRFI (-104)
The bats have been silent so far in this series, but Pittsburgh at least managed to put 1 run across in the top of the first inning on Saturday. Don’t be surprised if these 2 lineups wake up early and often in Sunday’s series finale. Mitch Keller is taking the mound for the Pirates and he is 1-9 with a 4.15 ERA. The right-hander has allowed 9 earned runs through 12.1 innings of work in June. Chicago’s Colin Rea has watched his ERA balloon from 2.38 to 3.92 over his last 4 outings.
This looks like an extremely favorable matchup for both offenses. Ian Happ of the Cubs is 11-for-27 lifetime against Keller with 3 home runs, 3 doubles and 6 walks; Seiya Suzuki is 5-for-10 with 2 doubles; Kyle Tucker is 2-for-2 with a homer. Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds is 8-for-14 against Rea with 2 homers and 2 doubles; Nick Gonzales is 4-for-8 with a dinger. Both teams have a good chance to find the scoreboard in the first inning.
