Ricky Dimon
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The Major League Baseball week continues with a 15-game slate on Saturday. It features 3 contests televised on FOX, starting with the Cubs vs Cardinals game in London at 1:10 pm ET. Meanwhile, the Mets are visiting the Phillies at 4:05 pm ET on FS1. On the whole, there are plenty of options with which to make a couple of YRFI/NRFI plays.
This market has become extremely popular in baseball betting. After all, you don’t have to sit around for 3 hours (or maybe a lot less now that games are not as long on average!) to see if your wager hits; the satisfaction (or in some cases disappointment) is immediate. It all comes down to the first inning.
Here are my best YRFI/NRFI bets for Saturday, and also be sure to check out all of our MLB picks.
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Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Dodgers: NRFI (+102)
Dodgers rookie Bobby Miller finally hit a snag in his most recent outing, but there isn’t any cause for concern. Although Los Angeles lost 15-0 to San Francisco, the bullpen gave up more than half of those runs and Miller held the Giants scoreless through 4 innings. The 24-year-old had previously made 2 straight starts without allowing a single run (6.0 innings of work in both) and in his first 2 major-league outings he surrendered just 1 run in each (11.0 innings in total). Miller has made 4 consecutive appearances without being victimized in the opening frame.
Both of these offenses are dangerous, but I’m willing to roll with the pitchers – especially at plus-money for the NRFI. Houston and Los Angeles combined for only 5 runs in the series opener on Friday. The Dodgers have won 3 games in a row, but in those victories they have scored just 2, 2 and 3 runs. Ronel Blanco is going for the Astros and he did not yield a first-inning run in any of his first 3 starts this year.
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Atlanta Braves vs Cincinnati Reds: YRFI (-142)
I know this is a steep price to pay for a YRFI, but DraftKings has over 0.5 runs in the first inning set all the way at -175. So is -142 at FanDuel really too much to ask? Probably not! After all, both of these offenses are on fire. Bats are the biggest reasons why Cincinnati has won 12 in a row and the Braves had won 8 straight heading into this blockbuster of a series. It’s safe to say that Friday’s opener of this 3-game set between the hottest clubs in baseball did not disappoint. The Braves put up a 5-spot in the opening frame only to see the Reds storm back for a dramatic 11-10 victory.
Saturday’s pitching matchup does nothing to dissuade the projection of another hitting barrage. Jared Shuster is going for the visitors and he is definitely the worst pitcher in their current rotation, saddled with a 4.57 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. Fortunately for Atlanta, Cincinnati’s Graham Ashcraft has been even worse. Ashcraft is 3-5 with a 6.78 ERA and 1.62 ERA, plus he is just now returning from the injured list (calf) to make his first appearance since June 8. Expect runs aplenty right from the start in this showdown.
You can also check out today’s MLB mega parlay and our College Baseball World Series Best Bets
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