We officially made it! Today is Opening Day of the 2023 MLB season. For almost every team in the league, this means the hope of the playoffs and a magical World Series run. For us, that means the return of one of my favorite bets to place, NRFI. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, NRFI or No Runs First Inning is as simple of a concept as it sounds. We are betting neither team will score a run in the first inning. Typically, these bets range between -130 and -190, largely dependent on the starting pitcher for a given day. These articles will come out almost every day from a collection of super-talen ted writers, and each of us will choose two of three games we like best on the slate.
Best MLB Opening Day No Runs First Inning Picks
On a day full of marque pitching matchups, this may be one of the best on paper. Framber Valdez will take the ball for the World Champs, and he is coming off back-to-back elite seasons. The left-hander relies on elite groundball rates, which makes it a bit difficult to project how the new shift rules will impact him. However, he allowed a 0.276 wOBA the first time through the order in 2022, and while the White Sox offense is solid on paper, they do not strike enough fear in me to push me off this bet.