Best NRFI Bets Today: The Pitchers to Back on Wednesday, August 21

Best NRFI Bets Today

This week in Major League Baseball is heating up, and we'll be treated to a packed slate of baseball all day on Wednesday. With that we'll take a look at the NRFI -- No Runs in the First Inning.

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

We'll head back to Atlanta to back another pair of capable pitchers in this Phillies vs Braves series, continue doubting the Rockies and Rockies and look into a discernable edge with one talented Blue Jays pitcher.

Let's check out some of the most profitable NRFI spots and get deeper into the slate, handing out MLB NRFI predictions for Wednesday, August 21st.

MLB NRFI Betting Prediction for Rockies vs Nationals

This series burned us on Tuesday with a solo homer in the first, but I'll continue to fade a Rockies team which has been the worst in baseball on the road against another capable Nationals left-hander.

• Mitchell Parker has now gone 16-6 to the NRFI this season, and while he didn't cash it in his last go around he had to deal with a hungry Phillies offense which was looking to turn its fortunes around -- and has been incredibly strong in the last week.
• Colorado hasn't been the friendliest NRFI team this year, but has been much better in helping us on the road with a 52% hit rate while Washington has now gone 77-49 to the NRFI all year long.

Parker has been competent all year long with a 4.44 ERA and will get a platoon edge early in this one with two of the Rockies' first four batting from the left side, including leadoff man Charlie Blackmon. The Rockies own a putrid 82 wRC+ against southpaws this year to sit down towards the bottom of the league and have struck out in 27.2% of those plate appearances.

The Nationals, meanwhile, have significantly less bite since trading away two of their best hitters at the deadline and are now down in 24th when it comes to wRC+ over the last 14 days.

Tanner Gordon isn't exactly a household name, but the Rockies' young starter on Wednesday has been trending in the right direction of late and prior to getting lit up by an incredible Diamondbacks offense in the first inning of his last start had allowed just three walks and hits in his previous four first frames.

NRFI Prediction: Rockies vs Nationals NRFI (-110 at BetMGM)

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MLB NRFI Betting Prediction for Reds vs Blue Jays

With his pedigree as a reliever, it should come as no surprise that Nick Martinez has ben dominant in the first inning of games. He's gone 7-1 to the NRFI this year and has held much better numbers the first time through the order before failing quite miserably later on in games.

• He'll face a Blue Jays team which has gone 68-58 to the NRFI this year, yes, but is hitting just .233 over the last week and should fall victim to a fly-ball pitcher here in Toronto -- a park which does not reward contact in the air.
• Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. continues to hit the ball well and could be a thorn in our side, just as Juan Soto was in the first inning of yesterday's Yankees gam, but leadoff man George Springer is hitting just .212 over the past two weeks and Daulton Varsho and Will Wagner have begun to strike out too much for my liking.
• Martinez's rolling xERA continues to trend down as his strikeouts trend up.

I think there's a very fair case for the Fordham product here, which is enough for me to call a NRFI here. Yariel Rodriguez will work the bottom half of the frame, and as a strikeout artist he should enjoy dealing to a Reds team that continues to struggle in this department, punching out in 26.2% of its plate appearances in the last two weeks.

NRFI Betting Prediction: Reds vs Blue Jays NRFI (-115 at BetMGM)

MLB NRFI Betting Prediction for Phillies vs Braves

Finally, let's go back to Atlanta where we'll be treated to a great pitching matchup we've seen before when Aaron Nola opposes Max Fried. Both men have been stellar all year long, and both of which have cashed the NRFI in 76% or more of their starts this season.

• In Fried's case, he's working on a run of 14 straight innings without a run in the first inning. He did this just a few starts back against Philly and allowed just one runner to reach base.
• His numbers against the Phillies may not look all that pretty, but in the past two seasons he's now gone 2-1 to the NRFI against his division rival.

The lefty will also have a discernable platoon advantage against the Phillies with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper each hitting left-handed, and over the last two weeks the pair of them are hitting below the league average.

As for Nola, well, he's not the easiest man to trust in general but his NRFI record speaks for itself. The Braves are also down Austin Riley towards the top of the lineup which will put the onus on an injured Jorge Soler, should he play in this on, and Michael Harris who has been middling since returning from injury.

I like this spot a lot.

NRFI Betting Prediction: Phillies vs Braves NRFI (-120 at BetMGM)

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