The Rockies and the Angels gave us a late night NRFI hit thanks to some slower developing bats. Now, we have some NRFI bets for June 4.
Thursday is a travel day in baseball, which means we have a few less games to choose from. Still, we dug through to find you the best plays. 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 – June 4
Athletics vs. Chicago Cubs
First Pitch – 8:05 pm EST
Wrigley Field – Chicago, IL
Broadcast – MLB TV
For our NRFI offering on Thursday, we head out to the Windy City. Shota Imanaga is on the bump first and he’s had some mixed results this year. After posting a 2.15 ERA in April, he got tagged for a 5.80 in the month of May. However, a lot of that damage was done late in games. If you look at his six starts over last month, he was 5-1 at keeping the first frame clean. The Athletics are a below average team both when it comes to runs per game and first inning scoring – ranking 19th and 18th in those respective categories. I like the chances for Imanaga to find his footing and get another clean first.
Imanaga’s counterpart will be JT Ginn, who has not had nearly as many issues as he has. Ginn carries a 2.87 ERA into action on Thursday and has been even better lately. Over his last five starts, Ginn has not once allowed more than two runs. In that span (28.1 innings), he’s allowed five total earned runs for a 1.59 ERA. The Cubs are a good hitting team, but this is another spot where they are usually slow to get started. They rank 26th in the majors in first inning scoring and have a tall task ahead of themselves here.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for June 4: No (+100)
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Houston Astros
First Pitch – 8:10 pm EST
Daikin Park – Houston, TX
Broadcast – MLB TV
In a rare move, I’m going to get down with a YRFI play on this Thursday. There are not a lot of pitching matchups that I trust, and I love the way that the bats on these two teams are trending.
We’ll start in the top of the first. Although Kai-Wei Teng has been a fun surprise for Houston, the bats of the Pirates have been white-hot. Over their past four games, they’ve scored 38 runs (9.50 runs per game). That includes putting up 19 in the first two games of this series. Pittsburgh is a top five team when it comes to scoring first inning runs, so even with the tough matchup, I like their chances of getting the party started early.
The Astros have also been a good first inning team. Their recent run has bumped them into the top five of first inning scoring alongside the Pirates. The added benefit for them is that they do not have to face a pitcher who has been good. Jared Jones returned to the mound for the first time since 2024 last week. He promptly got shelled for five runs in 4.1 innings. The Twins managed to score on him in each of the first three innings. Given that slow beginning, I like the chances that the Astros can find some early offense.
NRFI/YRFI Bet for June 4: Yes (-115)
If you’d like even more info to help make your NRFI and YRFI picks for June 4, 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.
