We swept the board with out NRFI plays to end rivalry weekend and we’ll look to keep that momentum going into a fresh week. We have some NRFI bets for May 18.
Monday means a thin docket to look at, but we still managed to find some gems. Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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MLB NRFI and YRFI Picks – May 18
Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins
First Pitch – 7:40 pm EST
Target Field – Minneapolis, MN
Broadcast – MLB TV
Kicking off a new week of NRFI plays will be rookie Kendry Rojas on the bump. It might feel like a stretch to get after an NRFI with a guy who has never started an MLB game in his career, but I love the makeup of this kid. He’s thrown 7.1 innings in relief so far and only allowed two earned runs. Additionally, the strikeout stuff appears to be for real with him. It won’t hurt that he’s running into an ice-cold Astros squad, who has scored just six runs over their last three games and were shutout on Sunday.
To round out this NRFI, we get Tatsuya Imai on the hill. He got smacked around a bit in his return from the IL, but it appears that a lot of that was late game fatigue. He came out of the gate strong with a 1-2-3 first inning that included a strikeout. It was the second time through that really gave him issues. That’ll probably be true here as well as the Twins have not been great in the early parts of the game. They rank 18th in the league with just 0.51 first inning runs per game. Look for Imai to have a quick first yet again.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for May 18: No (-110)
Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals
First Pitch – 7:40 pm EST
Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City, MO
Broadcast – MLB TV
In the top of the first in this one, we get Seth Lugo. While he maybe hasn’t been himself in his last couple of starts, his yearly numbers are still respectable. He holds a 3.76 ERA on the year and has fanned 56 guys in just 52.2 innings. There is some worry about him in the longterm, but certainly not against this Boston lineup. They rank 29th in scoring this year wih just 3.63 runs per game. They are one of five teams under the 4.00 runs per game mark. On top of that, they are even worse in the first inning. They rank dead last in the league with just 0.20 runs per game.
In the bottom of the inning, we’ll see slightly better bats – but only slightly. The Royals rank 24th in runs scored per game (4.02) and 27th in first inning runs per game (0.34). They lack the power to really be concerned about early pop that could wreck a NRFI. Sonny Gray should be able to help us keep those down as well. He’s rocking a 3.18 ERA and has been even better lately. He has allowed just two earned runs in his last three starts and has a 1.38 ERA in that span.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for May 18: No (-110)
If you’d like even more info to help make your NRFI and YRFI picks for May 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.
