We have made it the World Series! The Philadelphia Phillies will take on the Houston Astros in a best-of-7 series for the Commissioner’s Trophy.
If you aren’t interested in a bet that will take 9 innings, one of the shortest-lasting bets you can make in an MLB game is if a run will be scored in the first inning. All it takes is 6 outs to glory, and one swing of the bat can make or break your bet. There is also a lot of value in these bets because the odds are usually very well-priced, and if you’re not a fan of sweating out your bets for 3 hours then this one will take only about 15 minutes to win or lose.
Let’s get right into the YRFI/NRFI bet I like for Game 1 of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros.
Here is our World Series Game 1 preview
Philadelphia Phillies vs Houston Astros: NRFI (-160)
The NRFI for Game 1 is available at -160 odds for FanDuel, and I virtually ran to the counter to place the bet. The price is a little steep, but hear me out. Justin Verlander was spectacular in the first inning of the regular season, as he posted a 1.61 ERA and a .192 BAA in 28 starts. Nola had very similar first-inning statistics with a 1.41 ERA and a .204 BAA. The last time he allowed a first inning run was August 19 against the Mets, which means Nola has thrown a scoreless first frame in 11 consecutive starts. So together, the 2 starters were a NRFI bettor’s dream — and our lead betting analyst Jared Smith found the combined NRFI rate for Nola and Verlander in the regular season.
Verlander and Nola regular season NRFI record…
54-6
— Jared Smith (@jaredleesmith) October 24, 2022
The top of the Philadelphia and Houston order has remained the same throughout the postseason, so I expect to see Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins, JT Realmuto and Bryce Harper as the first 4 hitters in the Phillies lineup. In their careers against Verlander, Schwarber and Hoskins have never faced him, while Realmuto is 0-for-2 with a strikeout and Harper is 2-for-5 with 2 strikeouts. Ideally, Verlander gets through the top 3 in the Phillies order so that he doesn’t have to face the NLCS MVP. In the bottom of the first, the Astros’ lineup will more than likely be Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman. They are a combined 3-for-12 with 6 strikeouts against Nola. Houston has yet to score in the first inning in this postseason, so as long as soon-to-be AL Cy Young winner Verlander can throw a scoreless top of the first, we should get a NRFI in Game 1 of the World Series.
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