Best NRFI Bets Today

NRFI bets are perfect for baseball bettors that are looking for quick action on the sportsbook. Six outs and zero runs scored at the end of the first inning is all a bettor needs to win a NRFI bet.

Bettors that are new to NRFI can find more information on No Run First Inning bets on BestOdds’ NRFI stats page.

For even more data and betting insights for NRFI bets, be sure to check out NRFI PRO by clicking the link below! NRFI PRO comes with a 100% free trial! No credit card required!

So, with NRFI-betting assistance from NRFI PRO, let’s take a look at our top NRFI bet of the day!

Pick: CLE vs. PHI – NRFI | Best Odds: (-120) DraftKings

Cleveland Guardians vs. Philadelphia Phillies

First Pitch: 6:40 PM ET

The Cleveland Guardians were defeated by the Detroit Tigers last night, 3-0, making it the tenth shutout of the season for Cleveland. It’s an interesting number of shutouts for a team that is 20 games above .500.

The Guardians are still 13th in the MLB in runs scored, but since the beginning of July, they are 27th in runs scored. If Cleveland’s big bats, such as Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, and Steven Kwan, all go cold at the same time, the Guardians’ offense is in trouble.

It’s been a similar fate for the Philadelphia Phillies, too.

The Phillies are fifth in the MLB in runs scored this season, but are ranked 17th since the calendar flipped to July.

Tonight, these two regressing offenses go head-to-head at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and both starting pitchers have been quite good at keeping the opposing first-inning offenses to a minimum.

In the top of the first, All-Star lefty Cristopher Sanchez will take the hill for the Phils, and Sanchez is entering tonight’s matchup with a first-inning shutout record of 15-4.

As we can see from the visual below, courtesy of NRFI PRO, Sanchez has allowed just one batter or less to reach base safely in each of his last five first inning appearances, and hasn’t allowed a single runner to cross home plate.

In 19 starts this season, Sanchez has allowed a solid .233 opponent batting average and recorded a 0.95 WHIP in his combined first innings.

Cleveland’s offense has been sputtering, and there has been nothing different in the opening frame.

Here’s a look at the Guardians and Phillies’ offenses over their last 10 first innings, courtesy of NRFI PRO.

Cleveland has become a shutout concern, and obviously, not scoring in the first inning is a great way to put a lack of offensive pressure on your opponent.

In the bottom of the first inning, the Guardians’ Ben Lively will step to the mound against an effective first-inning offense from the Phillies.

As good as Philadelphia’s offense has been in the opening frame – whose 39 first innings with a run scored is second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 40 – Lively may quietly be one of the best first-inning pitchers in the MLB this season.

Lively currently has a first-inning shutout record of 16-1 in 17 starts, and his .105 opponent average and 0.71 WHIP in the opening frame are both the lowest of any pitcher taking the mound tonight that has made at least five starts in 2024.

Both Lively and Sanchez are working on scoreless first inning streaks of 10 or more games!

Cleveland and Philadelphia’s offenses are looking to reestablish themselves in the dog days of summer, and considering that both of tonight’s starting pitchers in tonight’s contest carry a combined first-inning shutout record of 31-5, I don’t see these offenses doing much until there is a call to the bullpen.

There’s going to be a nice and quiet first inning in Philly tonight.

No Run First Inning Betting Strategy

When someone tells you they have “a system” in betting, that’s a red flag. That goes for almost any bet, including No Run First Inning bets (NRFI).

NRFIs ebb and flow depending on a multitude of factors, such as starting pitchers, lineup construction, ballparks, weather conditions, you name it.

While there is no “system” for nailing down any NRFI bet, bettors should still find the appropriate tools and data that can assist them in their NRFI wagers.

For me, the ultimate NRFI betting tool is NRFI PRO, which has vaulted my NRFI betting profits out of the blind-betting graveyard it once laid.

So, no, I don’t have a NRFI-betting “system,” but I do have a strategy that relies heavily on NRFI PRO, my NRFI-betting sidekick, which keeps my NRFI wagers from killing my bankroll and leads to more profits.

First Inning Pitching Stats

When looking for NRFI bets, the starting pitching matchup is paramount. Some pitchers are locked in early, while others take some time to find a groove and settle in.

NRFI PRO provides bettors with all of the first-inning pitching stats necessary to zero in on a NRFI bet. NRFI PRO tells me what pitchers have been limiting baserunners and limiting contact in the opening frame. I can even pare down the information to see which pitchers are trending in the right – or wrong – direction.

Here’s an example:

From the beginning of the 2024 MLB season through June 2nd, St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher Kyle Gibson has been unspectacular in the first inning, allowing a .310 opponent average and a concerning 1.64 WHIP. Gibson’s mound opponent for this June 3rd contest, Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander, has been much more reliable in the first inning.

So, for this June 3rd example, many bettors would naturally avoid the NRFI here based purely on Gibson’s subpar numbers.

But, NRFI PRO shows me that over the Last 30 games, Gibson has done a much better job of limiting the opposition in the first inning.

Being able to break down season-long data and discover which pitchers are in good form is key to NRFI betting, and nobody offers this data like NRFI PRO.

Gibson’s pitching-specific NRFI record stood at 2-3 in his first five outings, but he has since gone 5-1, and that trend should be of interest to any NRFI bettor.

First-inning pitching data is constantly flowing, and NRFI PRO has the right pitching data for bettors to grab their “nurfboard” and ride those waves.

Pitching data from NRFI PRO also includes a player profile card that provides a number of baserunners allowed in each NRFI or YRFI.

These numbers can help indicate which pitchers can dance out of danger or which pitchers are allowing little to no base runners to reach in the opening frame.

First Inning Hitting Stats

The starting pitching matchup will almost always be the first factor considered in any NRFI bet. It’s the first thing I look at, too — but the opposing lineups can not be ignored.

After all, these are the players that are being tasked with putting runs up on the scoreboard.

NRFI PRO provides bettors with offensive NRFI records and percentages, first inning batting averages and on-base percentages, and first inning home runs — the ultimate NRFI killer.

As an example, here’s a look at the top-10 teams in offensive NRFI percentage from NRFI PRO.

Like the pitching data, the hitting data can also be broken down into smaller time samples.

Lineup Configurations

The construction of the opposing lineup is also very important. Bettors are looking for six outs and zero runs scored in the first inning to win a NRFI wager, and it’ll always be beneficial to the bettor to know which players are going to step to the plate in each half of the first.

Lineups can vary based on pitching matchups, and some teams are more likely to configure their lineups to attack those matchups with one or more “platoon” bats.

A “platoon hitter” is a player who is historically more successful against a pitcher from the opposite side, such as a right-handed hitter who produces more when a left-handed pitcher is on the mound, or vice versa.

These matchup deployments can alter lineup configurations and should be taken into account by any NRFI bettor.

Also, it’s best for bettors to know what’s going on in the game of baseball. A bettor who knows which players are injured and out of the lineup, which players are likely to be benched for a platoon situation and which managers are more likely to employ those platoon strategies will have an advantage in NRFI betting.

Streaks And Trends

The MLB season is long and is filled with hot streaks and cold streaks, and the same goes for offenses and pitchers.

Here’s an example from NRFI PRO of offensive NRFI records over the last 10 games (as of June 3rd).

These teams have clearly hit a snag in the early scoring department, and it can be tough to back an offense to pick up a first-inning run when they’re taking much longer to manufacture runs; regardless of their pitching matchups.

NRFI PRO is constantly assisting me in finding which offenses are quiet early in games. When spotting two of these lineups going head-to-head, like the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros for our June 3rd example, that’s where I focus in.

On the pitching side, streaks and trends tell an interesting story in NRFI betting, and Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitcher Ryne Nelson is a prime example.

Nelson went 8-0 to the NRFI in his first eight starts in 2024, but in that time, he has produced a 6.02 ERA—which is actually seventh-worst among all MLB pitchers who have thrown at least 40 innings pitched in that time.

Nelson’s first-inning batting average (.143) and WHIP (0.72) look nothing like his season-long numbers (.337 avg. and 1.76 WHIP), so he has certainly been a pitcher to keep an eye on for NRFI betting.

Streaks and trends all come to an end at some point, but NRFI PRO can provide bettors with the right matchup info to help bettors discern whether or not these trends live to see another day.

Line Shopping

Sportsbooks are constantly changing the lines for every wager, and the same goes for NRFI bets.

On NRFI PRO, bettors can find all of the information they need regarding first-inning wagers and where they can find the best odds.

Once again, using this St. Louis-Houston matchup from June 3rd, we can see that the best odds can be found at -115 on bet365.

The odds for a no-run first inning for this matchup were listed at -132 on FanDuel, -125 on DraftKings, -125 on Caesars, and -125 on BetMGM, just to name a few.

A winning $10 NRFI bet on bet365 would payout $18.70, while the same wager on FanDuel would payout $17.58.

By not placing a NRFI for this contest on bet365, bettors are just leaving money on the table.

While the difference between $18.70 and $17.58 may not seem like a large gap to some (6.4%), but over a number of wagers, it certainly makes a big difference for a bettor’s bankroll.

The higher the wager risked, the more money left on the table, so remember to shop around for the best odds.

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All lines are subject to change.

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