The week has started strong on the NRFI market, going 4-2 against a hard slate of pitching matchups. Now, we have some NRFI bets for May 20.
Wednesday closes up a bunch of series, and we’re taking a look at each to find you the winners. Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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MLB NRFI and YRFI Picks – May 20
Cincinnati Reds vs. Philadelphia Phillies
First Pitch – 1:05 pm EST
Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast – MLB TV
Kicking off our NRFI action is a matinee in the city of brotherly love. The Phillies send out Aaron Nola, which once upon a time was a sure thing for the NRFI world. He’s less so that this season as his ERA is well over 5.00. However, we’ve seen some signs of life from him lately. In his first two starts in the month of May, he went 10.2 innings and allowed just three earned runs (a 2.53 ERA). He did proceed to get shelled by the Pirates directly after, but Pittsburgh has been one of the best offenses this year. We don’t see that with the Reds – they are well below league average in scoring runs this season. Not only are they 17th in the league, but they also are scoring just 3.67 runs per game over their last three.
Speaking of faltering offenses, the Phillies have been struggling with the bats all year. They sit in a surprising 20th in MLB in runs per game with just 4.18. In addition, they’ve managed just 12 runs over their last three games and were held to one on Tuesday. Now they’ll have to face Andrew Abbott. Abbott has been lights out over his last three starts. He’s gone 16.2 innings in that span and allowed just one run. More impressively is the fact that he’s only allowed 11 total hits in that span as well. He should be able to tackle the top of this Philadelphia lineup on Wednesday.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for May 20: No (+100)
Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals
First Pitch – 7:40 pm EST
Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City, MO
Broadcast – MLB TV
The Red Sox continue to be an absolute gold mine when it comes to NRFI plays. Reason number one is that their pitching has actually been very solid. One of the names that’s been a part of that has been Connelly Early. He carries a 3.21 ERA into action and has actually been much better than that lately. He made his last two starts against the Braves and the Rays – two of the best teams in baseball. All he did in that time was log 12.0 innings with just one run and 14 strikeouts. Now he’ll get a Royals squad who is one of the only six teams in the league that has yet to crack 4.00 runs per game.
Another reason why Boston loves the NRFI is that they are another of those below 4.00 runs per game. Their 3.69 runs per game is only better than the Giants. Additionally, they are dead last with just 0.21 first inning runs per game. Those numbers aren’t going up with Michael Wacha on the bump. He ranks in the top 20 in MLB in both ERA and WHIP this year. He’s held opponents to two runs or less in six of his nine starts this year. The Red Sox should help him bump that up to seven.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for May 20: No (-155)
If you’d like even more info to help make your NRFI and YRFI picks for May 20, 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.
