Baseball is faster than ever with the implementation of the pitch clock, but DraftKings Sportsbook also has a market for those who still can’t wait 2.5 hours for results. NRFI bets (No Run First Inning) are exactly what they sound like. They give the bettor the ability to wager specifically on the outcome of a game’s opening frame. Will either team score a run? Yes or no? It’s that simple.
With that in mind, here are my top three NRFI picks for Friday’s full slate of MLB action.
| NRFI Bet Today | Odds | Why I Like the Pick |
| Guardians at Marlins | -135 | Both SP are over league average for NRFI this year as Sandy Alcantara (79%) takes on Parker Messick (94.4%). The Guardians rank third in NRFI this year, and the Marlins are also just over 50%. |
| Braves at Cardinals | -115 | Kyle Leahy is 14-for-18 (77.8%) in his career for NRFI as a starting pitcher, and Chris Sale is 14-for-16 (87.5%) this season. Both sides have solid offenses, but the SPs offer good value at this price point. |
| Diamondbacks at Dodgers | -110 | In a matchup of All-Stars, Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers host Eduardo Rodriguez and Arizona. Ohtani is 13-for-14 at converting NRFI this season, while Rodriguez has allowed one earned run in 11 IP vs. LAD. |
Cleveland Guardians at Miami Marlins (-135)
In one of the unique interleague matchups on the board this weekend, the Guardians are taking their talents to South Beach to take on the Marlins. It should be a great pitching matchup between rookie Parker Messick and veteran Sandy Alcantara.
Aside from a bad outing at Coors Field, Alcantara has been very solid lately. He’s 7-0 in his last seven starts with a 2.93 ERA and 3.13 FIP. He hasn’t allowed a run in the first inning of his last three starts and has a 79% NRFI rate this season, above league average.
Parker Messick has also been well above league average, starting 17 of his 18 starts (94.4%) with scoreless first frames. He had his streak of 17 straight NRFI snapped in his last start, but he’ll look to get back on track in this outing.
Both teams have been very strong NRFI plays this season. The Guardians have the third-highest NRFI rate in the MLB this season, while the Marlins are also above league average at 50.5%. At home, Miami is at 54.2%, while the Guardians are at an extremely high 60.4% NRFI rate on the road.
Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals (-115)
The Braves are in the Show Me State heading into the break with a matchup against the surprising Cardinals. Ace Chris Sale will get the ball for the Braves, and he’ll be taking on the underrated Kyle Leahy, who has had a solid season moving to the rotation from the bullpen.
Leahy has 14 scoreless first innings in his 18 starts over the last two seasons (77.8%), and he has allowed just one run over his last three outings, spanning 16 1/3 innings against the Cubs, Marlins and Diamondbacks. Leahy has a three-game NRFI streak coming into his tough matchup against Atlanta.
If Leahy can get the ball to Sale, this NRFI should be in good shape since Sale has notched a scoreless frame in the first inning of 14 of his 16 starts this season, including each of his last six outings. Sale has a 2.27 ERA and 2.89 FIP this year, coming back from another injury-plagued season with a strong bounce-back season. The Cardinals do have some solid bats near the top of the order, but it helps Sale that some of them will be in lefty-vs.-lefty matchups.
The Cardinals have the fifth-highest NRFI rate in the MLB this season, and Busch Stadium has the fourth-highest NRFI rate of the regularly-used ballparks this season.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers (-110)
Let’s wrap up Friday night’s NRFI plays with a pick from the West Coast, where the Dodgers are hosting the D-backs in an NL West clash. It should be a fun matchup between division rivals and both squads will send an All-Star to the mound to get things started.
The Dodgers will give Shohei Ohtani the ball for his 15th start of the season. He has an impressive 1.79 ERA and 2.62 FIP overall, and he has allowed a run in the first inning in just one of his 14 outings this season. His 92.9% NRFI rate this season is the third-highest of all the pitchers in play this Friday, and gives him a 76.3% NRFI rate for his career. He has given up multiple runs in each of his last four starts, slowing down a bit after his dominant start to the season, but he still is a strong option as an NRFI play Friday at these odds.
Eduardo Rodriguez will have the tough task of silencing the Dodgers’ bats in the bottom of the first. He has quietly put together a great season, compiling a 2.25 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He has been even better lately, allowing two runs or fewer in five straight outings. Rodriguez has a three-game NRFI streak and has already faced the Dodgers twice this season, giving up just one earned run on nine hits in 11 innings.
While Dodger Stadium is typically offense-friendly, the Dodgers rank in the top 10 in NRFI rate at home and overall this season. The D-Backs are slightly below league average at NRFI, but that is largely a result of the rest of their rotation struggling aside from E-Rod.
