NRFI Picks For MLB | May 14

Monday’s 13 contests resulted in a NRFI record of 9-4, providing profitable opportunities for no-run first-inning bettors everywhere.

For Tuesday’s MLB slate, there will be 16 games on the docket with the Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox playing a doubleheader after Monday’s rainout in the Southside of Chicago.

NRFIs can be a quick and fun way to get in on the MLB action, but bettors shouldn’t blindly place NRFI bets simply because a pitching matchup looks good or the dueling offenses look bad.

BestOdds EDGE is the ultimate NRFI-betting assistant, and EDGE contains a treasure trove of need-to-know NRFI data that points bettors in a winning direction.

With BestOdds EDGE as our guide, let’s examine some potentially profitable NRFI bets.

As always, all NRFI selections are accompanied by the best odds!

Oakland Athletics vs. Houston Astros

It’s the middle of May and the Oakland Athletics are two games above the Houston Astros in the AL West standings.

That’s weird. 

Especially weird considering that Oakland’s starting pitching has produced a collective ERA of 4.99, which is 26th in the MLB.

The best starter in the Athletics’ rotation may be southpaw JP Sears.

Sears (3-2, 4.20 ERA) has held his own as the de facto ace of this staff, with one bad outing against the Baltimore Orioles (seven runs allowed) ballooning his season long numbers.

In the first inning though, Sears has been a true ace.

BestOdds EDGE shows that Sears is coming off a YRFI hiccup against the Texas Rangers, but prior to that first inning run allowed, Sears had collected seven consecutive NRFIs to start the season.

Astros’ leadoff hitter Jose Altuve is batting .207 (6-for-29) in the last seven games, and with Houston’s tablesetter failing to be the catalyst for this lineup of late, I like Sears chances of keeping things clean in the first inning.

Sears mound opponent, Ronel Blanco, will take the mound first though, and this is where things get tricky.

Blanco (4-0, 2.23 ERA) has been a strong arm in the Astros’ rotation, but for some reason, the first inning has been his worst inning.

In the earliest portion of the game, Blanco seems to have trouble putting the ball over the plate and finding consistent strikes.

Here’s a look at Blanco’s numbers in the first three innings.

Inning	Blanco’s Opp. Average	Blanco’s Opp. WHIP
First	.269	1.71
Second	.043	1.29
Third	.167	0.71

It takes Blanco time to settle in, which is a huge NRFI red flag, but Oakland is hitting just .202 in the first inning as a team, and if the A’s hitters get themselves out, that may mask Blanco’s early command issues.

Also, Oakland has scored a run in the first inning in only eight of 43 games this season.

Pick: No Run First Inning (NRFI)

Best Odds: (+100) bet365

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Angels

Los Angeles Angels lefty Reid Detmers takes the ball in the top of the first inning tonight, and Detmers will look to extend his streak of eight consecutive clean first innings.

As we can see from BestOdds EDGE, Detmers has allowed only three baserunners in his last five first-inning appearances.

Detmers (3-4, 4.96 ERA) has allowed just a .107 opponent average and a 0.63 WHIP in the opening frame, but it’s fair to proceed with caution on Detmers, as the lefty has allowed 18 earned runs in his last 15.2 innings of work.

Detmers’ pitching lines have been messy, but as long as his first innings are tidy, I’ll continue to back him on a NRFI.

St. Louis Cardinals’ righty Sonny Gray will take the ball in the bottom of the first, and Gray (4-2, 2.29 ERA) has been strong in the first, allowing a run in just one of six starts.

The YRFI against Gray came in his previous outing against the Milwaukee Brewers when he allowed a two-out, three-run home run to Brewers’ first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

The top of the Angels’ lineup is much less threatening than Milwaukee’s, especially without Mike Trout’s bat in the lineup.

Here’s a side-by-side of the Angels and Cardinals’ first-inning hitting stats over the last 10 games, courtesy of BestOdds EDGE.

Los Angeles’ abysmal .118 average in the first over their last 10 games highlights the inconsistency of this lineup.

That 10-0 in the offensive NRFI column is glaring, too.

The Cardinals are not the 1927 Yankees in the first inning either, so Detmers and Gray should keep this game at zeroes early on.

Pick: No Run First Inning (NRFI)

Best Odds: (-125) bet365

Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting pitcher will be 24-year-old righty Slade Cecconi, and in Cecconi’s previous start, he held the Cincinnati Reds scoreless in the first inning without allowing a single baserunner.

Tonight, I expect that recent history to repeat itself.

Cecconi has been as good as can be in the first inning, producing four perfect opening frames to start his 2024 season.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of first inning statistics for Cecconi and his mound opponent, Hunter Greene, from BestOdds EDGE.

Cecconi has been lights out in the first, and that should be bad news for the Reds’ offense.

Cincinnati is hitting just .195 in the first inning in 41 games this season, but over their last 30 games, they are hitting just .145 in the opening frame.

Cecconi is getting better and the Reds’ offense is getting worse, so I like those converging trends to result in a quiet top of the first.

In the bottom half of the inning, Cincy flamethrower Greene (1-2, 3.38 ERA) will kick the rubber.

Greene went toe-to-toe with Cecconi and the D-Backs in his last start as well, and in that outing, Greene gave up a two-out solo-shot to Arizona’s designated hitter Joc Pederson.

In his last 17.2 innings of work, Greene has allowed just three earned runs, so he may be in good form at the moment.

Also, Greene has done well in his two starts away from Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. Greene holds a 4.19 ERA and a .244 opponent average at home, but a 0.82 ERA and a .135 opponent average on the road. 

Pick: No Run First Inning (NRFI)

Best Odds: (+105) Caesars