Thursday is going to be a tough day to take a matchup not to produce a run in the first inning, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. It is usually a travel day in the MLB so there are only a handful of matchups to choose from, limiting your options. No matter you’re strategy of selecting NRFI’s, fewer games make it tougher.
Luckily, the six-game slate for Thursday, April 4, still has some intriguing matchups. Here are our best NRFI prop bets, with odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Teddy Ricketson’s 2024 record against NRFI: 1-1
Best NRFI bets: Thursday, April 4
Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins (-140)
This is the first matchup between these divisional opponents of the season. Tanner Bibee will start for Cleveland, while Minnesota counters with Pablo Lopez. Bibee allowed three earned runs to the Oakland Athletics in his first start which only lasted four innings, but he didn’t give up any runs in the first. Lopez allowed a leadoff home run to the Kansas City Royals but then threw 6.2 scoreless innings for his first win of the season.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals (-110)
The Pirates and Nationals have still yet to score a run in the first inning this season. They will wrap up their three-game series on Thursday with Martin Perez and Josiah Gray getting the respective start for their teams. There’s a little concern with Gray, who got knocked around in his first outing, but I think the series finale follows the first two games of the series where all of the scoring comes after the first inning.
Game To Avoid
Detroit Tigers vs. New York Mets, Game 2
The Tigers and the Mets will play a doubleheader on Thursday. Game 1 begins at 12:10 p.m. ET, followed by game 2 at 3:10 p.m. ET. You can bet NRFI on either contest, but I’d avoid the second game. Each lineup will have already played through a game, and one of the appeals of going with NRFI is even though you are betting on a team’s best hitters not to score a run, it is also their first at-bats of the day. This isn’t the case in the second game of a doubleheader, so isn’t worth risking.