On Sunday, we swept the board with our first inning plays. We landed one plane at -135 and another for -120. We’ll look to duplicate our efforts with some NRFI bets for August 18.
26 teams are in action on Monday, which makes it a busier Monday than usual. It also gives us more looks to find winning NRFI and YRFI props for August 18. Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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MLB NRFI and YRFI Picks – August 18
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Miami Marlins
First Pitch – 6:40 pm EST
loanDepot park – Miami, FL
Broadcast – MLB TV
Kicking off this NRFI effort will be Eury Perez trying to keep the Cardinals quiet for three outs. That might be an easy task for a couple of reasons. Perhaps the biggest of them is that there is nobody worse than the Cardinals when it comes to scoring in the first inning. They have put up 0.31 runs per game in the first which is 0.08 worse than the next worse team (the Rockies). That gap is the same gap between the Rockies and the next ten teams. That level of ineptitude would give me confidence in an NRFI if they were hitting off of a pitching machine. They won’t be getting a pitching machine though, they’ll get Eury Perez and his respectable 3.58 ERA. He should be able to get quick outs for us.
The Marlins have been a below average team in scoring runs this year, and it hasn’t been much better lately. Their series with the Red Sox saw them score just 11 runs (or 3.67 per game). That’s nearly two-thirds of a run worse than their season average. That should help Matthew Liberatore, who is on the bump for the Cardinals. While his numbers on the surface don’t look great, he has been great in the first inning. He’s kept his last four opponents scoreless in the first and the opponents were far better. He faced the Dodgers, Yankees and the Padres twice – all of which are scarier lineups than the Marlins.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for August 18: No (-130)
Texas Rangers vs. Kansas City Royals
First Pitch – 7:40 pm EST
Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City, MO
Broadcast – MLB TV
Texas is one of the worst hitting teams in the majors. They currently rank 25th in the majors in run scoring and are in the bottom third of the league in first inning scoring. That should aid Michael Wacha in keeping the first frame clean. He has a 3.35 ERA on the year and has been untouchable lately. In his last six starts (36.0 innings), he has allowed just eight total runs. That comes out to a 2.00 ERA in that span. If anyone is going to upset that trend, it isn’t going to be this Rangers team.
If you’re looking for a team hitting worse than the Rangers, you can find them in the bottom of the inning. The Royals rank 28th in run scoring, just ahead of the Rockies and Pirates. They, too, are bad with scoring in the first inning – also ranking in the bottom third of the league. They’ll also have to face a hot pitcher with Jack Leiter on the hill. In his last five starts, he’s allowed just six earned runs and posted a 2.19 ERA. That includes a slew of better hitting teams, which gives the Royals little chance to get things going in the first.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for August 18: No (-110)
If you’d like even more info to help make your NRFI and YRFI picks for August 18, 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.
