Several of the best pitchers in baseball will face off during a full slate of Saturday games. With starters like Shota Imanaga, Justin Verlander and Yu Darvish taking the mound, a great way to get in on the MLB betting action this weekend and take advantage of low-scoring games with great pitching matchups is to bet on NRFIs — No Run First Inning wagers.
With NRFIs, you are betting that neither team will score a run in the first inning — if both starting pitchers get through the first unscathed, you win. NRFIs have become one of the most popular bets in baseball over the past few seasons.
Let’s take a look at the full slate of MLB games today and offer our favorite NRFI picks for Saturday, May 18, at the best U.S. online sportsbooks
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MLB NRFI picks for Saturday, May 18
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs NRFI odds
Bailey Falter will toe the rubber for the Pirates, and he has been solid for most of the season outside of two rough outings. Falter has gone five or more innings and given up three or fewer runs in six of his eight starts. He has also been good early in games, not allowing a first-inning run five times. The Cubs counter with Shota Imanaga, who has the best ERA in the league at 0.96. Imanaga has not given up an earned run in five of his eight outings and has yet to give up a first-inning run this season. Imanaga has been nothing short of amazing in his first MLB action, striking out 51 batters in 46.2 innings.
Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants NRFI odds
Colorado has had a rough start to the season, but one of the lone bright spots has been veteran left-hander Ty Black, who has a 3.00 earned run average through five starts. He has not given up more than one earned run in his last three outings. The Giants will give the baseball to Jordan Hicks, who has been making the successful transition from closer to starter this season. He has still flashed an upper 90’s fastball when needed but has also had impressive stamina, throwing five or more innings in seven of his nine starts. He has also been great early in games, not allowing a first-inning run in seven of his nine games.
Seattle Mariners vs. Baltimore Orioles NRFI odds
Luis Castillo takes the mound for the Mariners, and after a bumpy beginning of the season he has been fantastic over his last six starts. Castillo has not allowed more than two runs over his last six, and the team has won for of them. The veteran righty boasts a 3.31 ERA, has struck out 64 batters in 54.1 innings and has not allowed a first-inning run in three straight starts. For the Orioles, lefty John Means gets the baseball for the third time this season after starting the year injured. Means did give up four earned runs in his last start after not allowing any in his first start. He has been solid, not allowing a first-inning run in either start and coming in with a 3.09 ERA, striking out 11 in 11.1 innings pitched.
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NRFI pick of the day: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Houston Astros
Our favorite NRFI bet of the day features Justin Verlander making his sixth appearance of the season for the Astros. He will be countered by Bryse Wilson of the Brewers, who has quietly been putting together a very strong season. Wilson started the season as a reliever and has been getting stretched out through some of his early appearances. He has thrown at least four innings in his last four starts, only allowing a first-inning run once. As for Verlander, he began the season on the injured list but has returned and looked really good in four of his five starts. He has only given up a first-inning run once, coming in with a 3.38 ERA and off his best outing of the year: seven scoreless with eight strikeouts against the Tigers.
