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.
Tuesday NRFI Pick
| Matchup | Justin Verlander (Astros) vs. Joe Ryan (Twins) |
| First Pitch | 7:40 p.m. ET |
On Tuesday, we look to take the NRFI between two American League teams with pitchers on opposite ends of the age spectrum.
Justin Verlander has gotten better with age. In 16 first-inning batters faced, Verlander has allowed only one hit and one walk, holding opponents to a .067 batting average. This makes Verlander 5-0 to the NRFI in 2022 and 31-9 since 2019.
Verlander performs the best bet by getting the ball first; in the first game of the series since 2018, he is 22-4 to the NRFI.
Verlander has had significant success against Twins hitters in his career:
- Byron Buxton: 2-for-12
- Max Kepler: 1-for-18
- Jorge Polanco: 2-for-11
- Gary Sanchez: 1-for-12
This success has resulted in a 4-0 NRFI record against the Twins since 2018.
Twins hitters haven’t been great at home in the first inning. Since April 15, they have gone 6-for-31, resulting in a .194 batting average.
On the other side, we have up-and-coming Twins star Joe Ryan. In his young career, he has faced 34 potential batters and has allowed only two hits and zero walks, holding hitters to a .63 first inning batting average. This makes Ryan 4-1 to the NRFI in 2022 and 9-1 to the NRFI in his career.
Ryan has not faced the Astros yet in his career, but this leaves the unfamiliarity advantage to his advantage. The first time through the lineup, Ryan has allowed only four hits in 40 batters, equaling to a .100 batting average. That is also accompanied by 17 strikeouts in 2022.
Astros hitters have been unreliable in the first inning. Since April 15, they are the worst first-inning, road-hitting team in the MLB. In 36 plate appearances, they have obtained only two hits paired with 13 strikeouts, giving them a .094 batting average.
With the wind blowing 8 mph in, look to see a pitchers' duel between the young and the old.
As always, six outs to glory…
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