SBR's Dustin Saracini shares his best No Run First Inning (NRFI) bets for Friday June 20th (31-20, +6.63 on the season):
Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees (-105 at ESPN BET)
Tomoyuki Sugano (3.38 ERA) vs. Max Fried (1.90 ERA)
NRFI record: Orioles (39-35) vs. Yankees (36-38)
"Value, value, and more value. That's what we're getting in this matchup as part of our best NRFI bets today. Sugano was my preseason AL Rookie of the Year odds pick. While the emergence of Jacob Wilson likely squashed his chances, he's putting together a strong season for the Baltimore Orioles. He's striking this Yankees roster out 36% of the time and threw a five-inning shutout against them in April. I love him in this spot to get us three outs.
Does Max Fried need an introduction? No, but I'm going to give him one anyway. He's top five right now in AL Cy Young odds, and has obliterated the Orioles this year. Baltimore owns just a .187 xBA vs. Fried, who's held the projected top three to just one hit against him (1-for-7). We like those numbers."
Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels (-135 at DraftKings)
Hunter Brown (1.88 ERA) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (3.05 ERA)
NRFI record: Astros (46-29) vs. Angels (33-41)
"One of the best NRFI teams in baseball against one of the worst - what could go wrong? Well, when it's a Brown-Kikuchi bump day, I like our chances as part of our best NRFI bets today.
Backing one of the best pitchers in baseball in Brown should always make you feel good, especially when the Angels own a .241 xwOBA against him while hitting a measly .139. The projected top three for the Angels are 2-for-14 in this spot, and Brown hasn't allowed a run in the first frame across his last four starts. That'll work for us.
On the other side is Kikuchi, who's holding this Astros team to a .205 average against him. Jeremy Pena and Jose Altuve are a collective 5-for-30 versus the lefty, too. Kikuchi is very much a hit-or-miss-type pitcher, but when he's got his command, he can be one of the best in the game.
I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty good about both of these plays. Cheers to a 2-0 start to the weekend."
Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees (-105 at ESPN BET)
Tomoyuki Sugano (3.38 ERA) vs. Max Fried (1.90 ERA)
NRFI record: Orioles (39-35) vs. Yankees (36-38)
"Value, value, and more value. That's what we're getting in this matchup as part of our best NRFI bets today. Sugano was my preseason AL Rookie of the Year odds pick. While the emergence of Jacob Wilson likely squashed his chances, he's putting together a strong season for the Baltimore Orioles. He's striking this Yankees roster out 36% of the time and threw a five-inning shutout against them in April. I love him in this spot to get us three outs.
Does Max Fried need an introduction? No, but I'm going to give him one anyway. He's top five right now in AL Cy Young odds, and has obliterated the Orioles this year. Baltimore owns just a .187 xBA vs. Fried, who's held the projected top three to just one hit against him (1-for-7). We like those numbers."
Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels (-135 at DraftKings)
Hunter Brown (1.88 ERA) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (3.05 ERA)
NRFI record: Astros (46-29) vs. Angels (33-41)
"One of the best NRFI teams in baseball against one of the worst - what could go wrong? Well, when it's a Brown-Kikuchi bump day, I like our chances as part of our best NRFI bets today.
Backing one of the best pitchers in baseball in Brown should always make you feel good, especially when the Angels own a .241 xwOBA against him while hitting a measly .139. The projected top three for the Angels are 2-for-14 in this spot, and Brown hasn't allowed a run in the first frame across his last four starts. That'll work for us.
On the other side is Kikuchi, who's holding this Astros team to a .205 average against him. Jeremy Pena and Jose Altuve are a collective 5-for-30 versus the lefty, too. Kikuchi is very much a hit-or-miss-type pitcher, but when he's got his command, he can be one of the best in the game.
I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty good about both of these plays. Cheers to a 2-0 start to the weekend."