Best NRFI Bets Today – No Runs First Inning Picks UPDATED DAILY

Athletics vs. Tampa Bay Rays

The Athletics and Rays open a three-game tilt to get the week started on Monday night at Steinbrenner Field. Drew Rasmussen is scheduled to receive his 17th start of the season for the Rays. A’s starter Jacob Lopez is slated to counter on the road in Florida.

Rasmussen has been a rare bright spot on the Rays this season. The 29-year-old native of Washington enters with an ERA of 2.45 and a 0.96 WHIP. He’s on fire with two or fewer earned runs in seven of eight games.

"Drew Rasmussen is almost as obvious of an American League All-Star pitching selection as there is." – @jonmorosi pic.twitter.com/S9fgnFFCgT

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 26, 2025

Rasmussen has been one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball since 2021, but injuries have held him down. He’s recorded a 2.44 ERA or better in each season, though cut short the last two years. It’s good to see Rasmussen performing at a high level!

Look for him to get past the Athletics in the 1st inning, while Lopez should take care of the Rays’ bats in the bottom half of the frame. Lopez is in top form recently, as he aims to improve on a solid 3.56 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He is on fire with one earned run over his last 23 innings on the mound!

So, as one of our NRFI best bets today, the Athletics vs. Rays matchup is a solid option on Monday.

Kansas City Royals vs. Seattle Mariners

The Royals are in Seattle for a four-game series against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Michael Wacha has quietly been flying under the radar and should deliver another strong performance to open the new week. Opposite Wacha, George Kirby is slated to get the starting call for the Mariners.

Wacha goes into Monday’s assignment with a 3.33 ERA and 1.22 WHIP through 16 games and 92 innings. The wily veteran continues to chew up innings and consistently goes about his business in 2025. Wacha has locked down this Mariners’ lineup to a .197 batting average through 76 at-bats.

Kirby owns an ERA of 5.40 and a 1.28 WHIP through seven starts. He returned to the mound and struggled against the Nationals and Astros. There was some rust to shake off, but Kirby was able to find a rhythm. The pitcher is back in top form, with two or fewer earned runs yielded in four of his previous five starts.

George Kirby had all his pitches working in a 14-K performance 🤮 pic.twitter.com/9bdR49bWFw

— MLB (@MLB) June 8, 2025

Also, note that the Royals are hitting just .182 with two RBIs versus Kirby. Expect him to neutralize the Royals to open the ball game, while Wacha should follow in the bottom half. In other words, I recommend the Royals vs. Mariners as one of the best NRFI picks today.

1. Check The Starting Lineups, Especially The Pitchers

You should always begin with the lineups. Check who the starting pitchers are and then go through the latest injuries and suspensions to see whether any of the teams will be missing key pieces.

We usually go to the CBS’ MLB injury report to see who’s out and who’s doubtful. They pull the data directly from league reports, so it’s trustworthy information.

2. Analyzing NRFI Stats

Once we know the most likely lineups, it’s time for a key step of our NRFI betting strategy: analyzing numbers. You need to go through various data points to determine how likely is for the opening inning of a game to end without any runs.

We explore the individual stats of the starting pitchers, we analyze the offensive numbers of both sides, and we also take a look at the total team stats for first inning runs.

Once we have a complete overview of what’s going on, we create our own estimates (in percentages) of how likely it is to see no runs in the first inning.

After that, it’s time to check the odds!

3. Line Shopping

It’s time to check some betting odds! We use two bookmakers that offer daily NRFI betting odds for the MLB: Bovada and BetWhale. We check their prices for all games and turn them into probabilities.

We compare them to our own estimates and when we see good betting value, we place our NRFI wagers!

We strongly recommend using multiple top betting sites yourself for the best results. The two we highlighted above are all excellent for no runs first inning bets.