While Foster Griffin surrendered an early dinger to mess up our streak, we’re still 5-1 over our last six plays. Now, we have some NRFI bets for August 1.
Saturday’s docket goes from afternoon until night. We dug through it all 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 – August 1
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Toronto Blue Jays
First Pitch – 3:07 pm EST
Rogers Centre – Toronto, ON
Broadcast – MLB TV
Kicking off this NRFI matinee will be Kevin Gausman on the bump. Gausman might not be having a banner year, but his numbers are respectable enough to make him a trade deadline target for a lot of teams. More importantly, he gets to face the ice-cold Cardinals, who can’t seem to find any offense lately. Over their last five games, they’ve managed just 13 total runs (or 2.60 per game). I’d take a pitching machine to get an NRFI against them right now.
Speaking of teams that we want to fade at all costs, the Blue Jays have been bad all year. They are one of only two teams that are under the 4.00 runs per game mark on the year. They not only rank 29th in the league in run scoring, but rank 29th in first inning production as well. That should help Quinn Matthews ease himself into the majors as he makes his first start of his career. While that’s not usually the guy you want to tail on an NRFI, he was stellar in the minors. In 92.0 innings of work, he’s fanned 111 batters and kept up a 3.15 ERA. With Toronto struggling, he should be able to close this one out for us.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for August 1: No (TBD)
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Cleveland Guardians
First Pitch – 7:15 pm EST
Progressive Field – Cleveland, OH
Broadcast – Fox
While we’re spending a lot of Saturday fading the lineups, this is a case of trusting an arm. The Diamondbacks are an average team at the plate – although they are in the bottom third of the league in first inning scoring – but Parker Messick is a beast. He carries a 2.59 ERA into action on Saturday, which puts him in the top 10 of the league. He’s also in the top 10 of WHIP and the top 25 of strikeouts. He should breeze through the first three outs for us.
To close this one out, we’ll get back to our fading ways. The only other team to join the Blue Jays under 4.00 runs per game is the Guardians. They are the worst team in the league when it comes to putting runs on the board. They also rank in the bottom third of the league in first inning run scoring. That’s all good news for Kohl Drake. He might be making just his third start, but his strikeout stuff played up in triple-A this year. Additionally, if you’re reading this, you might be able to get out of the first against the Guardians.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for August 1: No (TBD)
Bonus Pick: Red Sox/Dodgers NRFI (TBD)
Looking to put together a three-pick parlay? This extra play may just be the piece that you’re looking for. Throw it together with the other two to net a three-pick parlay.
If you’d like even more info to help make your NRFI and YRFI picks for August 1, 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.
