After eight games in the afternoon, Major League Baseball had eight more games on the slate for this Saturday night. The Guardians-Cubs game was postponed, leaving seven more matchups to consider on the board. With so many options in play, bettors have many options when building a card for this Saturday night — and few wagers are more exciting than the No Run First Inning (NRFI) props.
NRFI prop bets are extremely simple but can also be seriously difficult. Six outs without any scoring is all that is needed to cash in, but it’s hard to find a spot you can be confident will stay scoreless. This style of prop is quick-hitting, easy to track, and supremely straightforward. Still, most days it’s easier said than done. Finding the right pitchers and the best value is crucial, so be sure to consider all the factors as you assemble your NRFI picks.
Be sure to check out the new NRFI Trends Tracker on DK Network as you make your selections this Monday. Taking a look at the options, here are my top two NRFI bets for Monday on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Brewers at Royals NRFI (-125)
The Brewers and Royals were rained out on Friday and ended up with a doubleheader on Saturday. The Brewers won the first game, 5-2, to improve to 6-1 on the season, getting started early by scoring two runs in the first. Even without an NRFI in the first game of the day, the Royals have five NRFIs in their first seven games.
The Brewers have only had one NRFI in their first seven games, but this still sets up as a strong spot for NRFI based on the starting pitching matchup. Brandon Sproat will start for the Brewers, while Seth Lugo starts for the Royals. Lugo has a 78.2% NRFI in his career, while Sproat has an even-better 80% in his more limited sample size.
Lugo didn’t give up any runs in 6.1 innings in his first start of the year, but Sproat got hit around by the White Sox. The 25-year-old righty had a very strong spring training, though, allowing just five runs in 13 innings with 15 strikeouts.
Lugo will look to keep the Brewers off the board in the first inning of the nightcap, and Sproat should be able to keep the Royals at bay early on. Both clubs have been so slow out of the gate this season, continuing a trend from last year as well.
Reds at Rangers NRFI (-125)
The Rangers host the Reds in the second game of their series at Globe Life Field in a fun matchup of exciting young arms. Kumar Rocker gets his first start of the season for the home team, while Rhett Lowder makes the start for Cincinnati.
Rocker had his first start pushed back to Saturday after a minor neck issue with ace Jacob deGrom forced Texas to reshuffle the order of their starters. Rocker is about league average in NRFI rate for his career, but he’s been much stronger at home. In 2025, he posted a 2.43 ERA in Arlington compared to 9.29 on the road. Thus, he has a strong chance to shut down the Reds, who have hit five NRFI in their first seven games of the season.
The Rangers have four NRFI hits in their first seven games, but they’ll be facing Rhett Lowder, who has yet to give up a run in the first inning in any of his seven MLB starts. The 24-year-old righty performed well in his first start of the year after posting a 1.17 ERA and 3.10 FIP across six starts in 2024. Facing the Red Sox on Sunday, he went five strong and didn’t give up a run until the fourth inning.
