It's that time of the summer when the sports world turns all of its attention to Major League Baseball. Even the College World Series is over, so for gamblers this is the time to lock in on the MLB and cash in because we have half a season's worth of data to help make out picks.
Tonight, we'll be tapping in that information to place a couple of first inning over/under bets. These are my picks for No Run First Inning and Yes Run First Inning bets across the full slate of games tonight.
Best NRFI bet today
Miami Marlins vs. Boston Red Sox +100
The Marlins are an interesting team because they have the best leadoff hitter in baseball in Luis Arraez who is hitting .399 coming into tonight, and yet they're the second worst first inning offense in the league. Miami scores 0.31 first inning runs per game which is 29th and Boston checks in at 22nd scoring 0.46.
The Red Sox though have an OPS under .500 in their past five games and are facing Braxton Garrett coming off a 13 strikeout performance against Pittsburgh.
Best YRFI bet today
Washington Nationals vs. Seattle Mariners -108
There are two things I typically look at for a YRFI bet. First inning runs scored by the teams involved and the starting pitcher's first inning ERA. This is a rare case where we have both lined up for a solid YRFI bet.
First, Patrick Corbin is a mess in any inning, but especially the first one where he has a 6.75 ERA which is the eighth worst in baseball. That's a great opportunity for the Mariners to cash in early on after a 7-4 loss to Washington yesterday.
On the other side though Logan Gilbert has been good and is good in the first inning, but the Nationals offensively are a top 10 team in terms of OPS in the past week, but also for the season are eighth in first inning runs per game, 0.61.
We have a good chance at a run coming in for all six outs, not just one good matchup for YRFI, but two.
Follow all Josh Yourish's bets HERE
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change
