We split on our action in the two games that we highlighted Friday. The Braves and Guardians came through for us in an absolute pitchers’ duel. Now we look for a couple more of those to make our NRFI bets for August 18.
There action all day and we sifted through is all to find the best NRFI and YRFI props for August 16. Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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MLB NRFI and YRFI Picks – August 16
Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays
First Pitch – 3:07 pm EST
Rogers Centre – Toronto, ON
Broadcast – MLB TV
To kick off our NRFI action this weekend, we’re going North of the border. The Blue Jays have Eric Lauer on the bump and he’s been sensational this year – posting a 2.82 ERA in 19 appearances. He’s been even better since the Jays moved him into a starting role after beginning the year in the bullpen. In his 13 starts, he has not allowed more than three earned runs even once. He gave up exactly three to the Dodgers last time out, but prior to that, he had a streak of six straight with two runs or less. Now he gets a Texas squad that rank in the bottom third of the league in first inning scoring. That sounds like a recipe for three quick outs.
In the bottom of the inning, we do have to be weary of the big bats from Toronto. They rank 7th in run scoring this year and have been one of the big offensive surprises. However, despite all that, they rank 28th in first inning scoring with just 0.40 first inning runs per game. That’s just ahead of the Rockies by a small fraction. That’s good news for Patrick Corbin, who has been a surprise this year himself. After being a disaster the last couple seasons, he’s posted a respectable 4.00 ERA and was particularly good in July. In that month, he held together a 2.30 ERA. He’s just need a taste of being that good to get us a clean first inning here.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for August 16: No (-110)
Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins
First Pitch – 7:15 pm EST
Target Field – Minneapolis, MN
Broadcast – FOX
Detroit is not like the Blue Jays. They are also a top ten team in terms of runs, but score equally well in that first frame. If tha’s true then we are putting all our NRFI eggs in Zebby Matthews’ basket. I’m fine with that being that just two starts ago he faced this same Tigers team. In that start, not only did he give us a clean first inning, but he was straight dealing in that one. He went 5.0 innings and allowed just one run on five hits. He also struck out six in the process. The strikeout stuff has been nice lately as he picked up nine against the Yankees last time out. Look for Zebby to rack them up early again here and get us out of that first inning.
The bottom of the inning should give us much less trouble with the bats. The Twins rank 23rd in MLB in runs per game, and have put up just 2.33 runs per game over their last three. If you want to stretch that back to five games, they’ve scored just ten total runs (or 2.00 runs per game). Now they’ll have to change that tune with Casey Mize on the bump. The All-Star Mize has a solid 3.50 ERA and has kept teams to two runs or fewer in 75% of his starts this season. The Twins shouldn’t give him an issues as he locks down this NRFI for us.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for August 16: No (-115)
If you’d like even more info to help make your NRFI and YRFI picks for August 16, check out the MLB Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar with their MLB picks today.
