Caleb Wilfinger
The MLB season is back, and the first week of the campaign has already produced some tremendous battles on the diamond. While there are plenty of ways to wager on all of the action on the diamond this season, one of the quickest bets you can make is if a run will be scored in the first inning. 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 was profitable for our MLB handicapping team last season, so let’s keep that momentum going! But before we dive in, don’t forget to check out our MLB picks for all of today’s games.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Boston Red Sox: YRFI (-110)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -120.
Our best bet in the YRFI/NRFI market takes us to Boston on Friday for a matchup between the Cardinals and Red Sox. Fenway Park should feature excellent hitting conditions for this matchup, as temperatures are expected to be around 64 degrees at first pitch, with around 10 mile per hour winds. It’s a mild spring day in Boston, and it also helps matters that both starting pitchers can be had against a pair of offenses that should be feeling good heading into this contest.
As my colleague Javan pointed out, the Cardinals have been seeing the ball well against right-handed starting pitching, as their hitters have 28 hits in just 18.2 combined innings against the four opposing right-handed starters they have seen to this point. Given that new Red Sox starter Walker Buehler had a rocky debut outing last week, surrendering 7 hits and 4 earned runs en route to a loss to the Texas Rangers, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Redbirds were able to scratch across an early run against the veteran right-hander.
Buehler isn’t far removed from a troubling regular season a year ago, and while the same can’t quite be said for St. Louis starter Erick Fedde, he still has been a below average starter with very poor expected metrics for the vast majority of his career to this point. The Red Sox are a talented offensive unit that appears to have really started clicking in their last couple of victories over the Orioles, so even if St. Louis starts off slow, I have confidence in Boston to score in the opening frame on Friday.
