Shayne Trail breaks down his favorite NRFI/YRFI bet of the day below, but you can follow all of his bets in the Action Network app.
Cardinals vs. Rays — No Runs First Inning (-155)
| Matchup | Cardinals (Mikolas) vs. Rays (McClanahan) |
| First Pitch | 1:10 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | BetMGM |
On Thursday, we travel to Tropicana Field for an NRFI betting angle featuring the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays.
Just two years into his career, Shane McClanahan is going to be a NRFI machine for the Rays. Since he entered the league, he has posted a 30-7 NRFI record, including a 9-2 start to this campaign.
McClanahan is arguably the best NRFI pitcher when his team is favored, boasting a 24-4 NRFI record. In 41 first inning batters, McClanahan has only issued one walk and allowed seven hits holding his foes to a respectable .180 average.
McClanahan hasn’t faced these Cardinals hitters leaving the unfamiliarity to his advantage. His only past matchup is Albert Pujols, who is 0 for 2 overall.
In the last seven days, there have been a few St. Louis hitters in slumps:
- Albert Pujols: 2 for 12
- Nolan Gorman: 2 for 15
- Yadier Molina: 2 for 18
Over the last 15 days in the first inning, the Cardinals are ranked 25th in the first inning with a batting average of .167 overall.
Taking a deeper look, they also managed to rank 28th in hard-hit rate at 21.9% and 27th in soft contact at also 21.9 percent.
On the other side, we have Cardinals and Miles Mikolas, who is 15-5 since the 2021 season. Like McClanahan, Mikolas is also 9-2 to the NRFI in 2022. In 43 first inning batters, Mikolas has only issued four walks and allowed eight hits.
Miles holds some impressive past numbers against the Rays hitters:
- Kevin Kiermaier: 0 for 2
- Manuel Margot: 1 for 7
- Harold Ramirez: 1 for 6
In their last seven days, these Tampa batters are slumping:
- Manuel Margot: 3 for 23
- Vidal Brujan: 2 for 16
- Kevin Kiermaier: 1 for 16
Over the last 15 days for the Tampa hitters in the first inning, they’re ranked 27th with a .167 team batting average. Looking at this split a bit further, they also hold the MLB-worst 30th-ranked soft contact rate at 26.5 percent.
With these first-inning bats playing the way they are, we will see both of these nine NRFI win pitchers pick up double-digit win No. 10 in this game.
Take the NRFI between the Cardinals and Rays at these odds.
As always, six outs to glory…
