Thursday saw us sweep the first inning action yet again. A hit at -120 and one at -125 has us 4-0 over the last couple days. We’ll look to let the good times roll with our NRFI bets for August 22.
With every team back in action on Friday, there is plenty to sort through to find the best NRFI and YRFI props for August 22. Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
CHECK OUT THE SPORTS GAMBLING PODCAST’S DAILY BEST BETS
MLB NRFI and YRFI Picks – August 22
New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves
First Pitch – 7:15 pm EST
Truist Park – Atlanta, GA
Broadcast – Apple TV+
The Mets and the Braves are a long and storied rivalry. While neither team is where they expected to be this season, they still always play each other tough. This one hardly has the pitching matchup you would have circled at the beginning of the year, but it’s one that I think should carry us to an NRFI cash.
Joey Wentz takes the bump for the Braves here. He’s been really solid in his last four starts for the Braves – only once giving up more than a run in a start. Even with the one rough start against the nearly unstopable Brewers in there, he’s still posted a 2.70 ERA in that span. The last two starts have really been another step forward. He allowed just one run in each of those starts and only allowed a combined seven hits. With the Mets being a middle of the pack team when it comes to scoring in the first, I think Wentz should get us a quick three.
In the bottom of the inning, we’re banking on the slow bats of the Braves to help quite a bit. They have been a bit better as of late, but are still below average in just about every offensive metric that might mater to an NRFI. Now they’ll get rookie Nolan McLean, who was sensational in his MLB debut last week. He went 5.1 scoreless against the Mariners and struck out eight. He’ll have an easier time against the Braves, who scored just one unearned run against the White Sox and Martin Perez last time out.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for August 22: No (-125)
Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox
First Pitch – 7:40 pm EST
Rate Field – Chicago, IL
Broadcast – MLB TV
The Twins kick off this NRFI for us and they, too, have not been great at the plate. They rank 23rd in runs scored on the year with 4.13 per game, and have fallen off even that pace. In their last three games, they’re putting up 2.67 runs per game. That’s third worse in the majors over that stretch of games. Now Aaron Civale will look to take advantage of that. He was walloped by the Guardians two starts ago, but if we look at that as a blip on the radar, he’s been great over the last five. In the other four games of that stretch, he’s allowed just three earned runs and shut out three different teams in that stretch. He should be able to work his way through a clean opening frame for us.
To close out this NRFI, we’ll look to Zebby Matthews. The last three games from Zebby have shown us some really good stuff. He’s allowed just six total runs over those last three starts. However, what is most impressive is that those games came against the Yankees and two against the Tigers. Both of those teams rank in the top eight of run scoring. On top of that, he’s posted 14.11 strikeouts per nine inning against those teams. He should get a reprieve against a White Sox team that was just shutout against rookie Hurston Waldrep and a struggling Braves bullpen.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for August 22: No (-135)
If you’d like even more info to help make your NRFI and YRFI picks for August 22, 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.
