Interested in the best NRFI bets today? You’ve come to the right place since our MLB experts share their no runs first inning picks on a daily basis! We go through the odds of the top MLB betting sites to find the highest value picks for this market and bring them to you.
You will find our top NRFI predictions in the table below, but we also share our reasoning for each bet and our overall strategy later in this article.
Best No Runs First Inning Bets for April 18
| MATCHUP | BOOKMAKER |
|---|---|
| KC Royals vs. Detroit Tigers NRFI (-130) | Bovada |
| Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies NRFI (-145) | Bovada |
| Athletics vs. Milwaukee Brewers NRFI (-120) | Bovada |
If you’re also interested in similar picks, check out our best bets to score a home run today! We also have a free NRFI contest with $250 in prizes each Friday, so make sure to check it out!
Our NRFI Picks for April 18 (With Reasoning)
After going through the latest no runs inning odds, we believe these are the best NRFI bets today, April 18.
Kansas City Royals vs. Detroit Tigers
The Royals and Tigers continue their four-game series in downtown Detroit at Comerica Park on Friday. The home club opened up this AL Central tilt with a 6-1 win over the Royals yesterday.
Promising rookie Jackson Jobe takes to the mound for his fourth start. He is off to a strong stretch with a 3.00 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 15 innings of work.
Jobe is playing up to expectations thus far, and the Tigers are optimistic he can join Tarik Skubal at the top of the rotation in the future. Note that the Royals’ offense has been anemic, with just 2.95 runs per game this season.
Look for Jobe to chew up the Royals and pitch a scoreless inning. I expect the same from Royals’ starter Cole Ragans. As one of the Cy Young contenders, Ragan is in sharp form to open the 2025 campaign.
Cole Ragans' last 3 starts:
7.2 IP, 10 K
6 IP, 11 K
5 IP, 10 K@Royals | #MLBCentral pic.twitter.com/R1xAeuPJm2— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 14, 2025
Ragans posted an ERA of 2.28 and a 0.93 WHIP across 23.2 innings this season. After getting tagged for three earned runs in the season opener, the pitcher allowed one run in three straight starts. The Tigers are hitting just .082 in 49 at-bats against Ragans!
For our NRFI predictions today, the Royals vs. Tigers is one of the best options on Friday!
Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The Marlins are at Citizens Bank Park to open a three-game series against the Phillies. Philadelphia is scheduled to send ace Zack Wheeler to the bump for his fifth start this season. Wheeler enters against the Marlins with a 4.07 ERA and 1.07 WHIP through 24.1 innings.
Zack Wheeler punches out 10+ for the 26th time in his career, the first time this year 😤 pic.twitter.com/5uUg7b8RgZ
— MLB (@MLB) April 3, 2025
This isn’t typical Wheeler form, so I expect him to look more the part today. He’s coming off a shaky effort, allowing seven hits and four earned runs to the Cardinals on the road. However, Wheeler was on fire with three hits and one run allowed in his most recent assignment at home.
Wheeler should get through the Marlins without too many complications. I expect the same from Marlins’ starter Sandy Alcantara. The 2022 NL Cy Young champ is looking to get comfortable after missing all of 2024. Alcantara carries a 4.70 ERA and 1.17 WHIP into tonight. He hasn’t allowed many base runners, with just 10 hits through 15.1 frames.
Alcantara and Wheeler could get into a pitcher’s duel, so this matchup is one of the best NRFI bets today!
Athletics vs. Milwaukee Brewers
The Athletics and Brewers get started with a three-game long weekend tonight at American Family Field. Milwaukee is scheduled to give the mound to Freddy Peralta in this matchup.
The Brewers’ ace is off to a quick start, with an ERA of 2.31 and a 0.90 WHIP. Peralta has conceded two or fewer runs in all four of his performances this season.
Freddy Peralta has retired the last 19 batters he's faced today 🔥 pic.twitter.com/I6SNm6WMHx
— MLB (@MLB) April 2, 2025
He is one of the most reliable hurlers in the Major Leagues, posting a 3.86 ERA or lower in four consecutive years. The Athletics should run into problems in the opening frame on the road.
Likewise, the Brewers are likely to go scoreless against J.T. Ginn. The 25-year-old was dynamite with a 1.69 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in his season debut against the Mets.
In his first season in the Majors in 2024, Winn showed flashes of a future stud in the A’s rotation. The pitcher posted a 4.24 ERA and 1.32 WHIP through 34 innings. He’s locked in to open the season and I expect him to fire out of the gates tonight.
In shirt, this is one of the best NRFI prop bets today!
Our Daily No Runs First Inning Bets Strategy
We provide our reasoning for all daily NRFI picks, but we also want to share our general strategy for these bets. Learning how to approach the market can help you conduct your own predictions!
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to uncover good NRFI bets every day! We repeat the process for all games on the selected day and share the picks that come out on top on this page.
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.
We might add more options in the future, but we want to keep it manageable for readers who follow us for now. If you join any of them, you should know the market is called “Will there be a run in the first inning?” at both bookies.
More Daily Betting Picks From The Geek
Our team delivers sports betting picks on a daily basis. We have our AI picks that are generated by The Geek, our own artificial intelligence betting creation! The Geek covers major US sports daily, so check the latest recommended bets. For now, we don’t have an automated NRFI algorithm, and all picks are manual, but this could change in the future.
We also have the Sports Geek blog, where our writers work hard to uncover profitable angles. You will find predictions and recommended bets for sports, politics, entertainment, esports … pretty much anything you can bet on, so stay tuned!
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