Best NRFI Bets Today: Continue to Fade the Astros Underwhelming Offense

With the Houston Astros offense still struggling to generate Hits at a league average rate, Kris Bubic is in a favorable position to get off to a hot start as the Kansas City pitcher excels at avoiding contact. Before their opening pitch takes place, we face the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds top of their orders as they are set to face off against a pair of defenses who rank above league average in Defensive Efficiency.

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Kansas City Royals vs. Houston Astros - Kris Bubic vs. Framber Valdez (8:10 PM, EST)

Under 0.5 Run (-130) at BetMGM Sportsbook

Heading into the year, the Houston Astros were projected to be one of the top contenders for the World Series due to their depth and talent on offense. As of writing, the Astros have yet to look the part as their lineup ranks below league average in Contact Rate and in Total Runs Scored. The top of their order has struggled to open up the scoring early on in their contests as Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena, and Isaac Paredes all possess an OPS lower than 0.800.

In Tuesday’s matchup against Kansas City, the Astros struggles with generating Hits are poised to persist as they face off against the Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic who excels at avoiding contact. In his eight starts, Bubic is averaging less than one Hit Against per Inning Pitched, an ERA of 1.69, a WHIP of 1.104, and a FIP of 2.70. Bubic also receives a high level of support from his defense as the Royals currently lead the league in Fielding Percentage.

Like the Royals, the Astros defense have also played at a high level this season as their back end ranks fifth overall in Defensive Efficiency. Their coverage will make it tough for Kansas City to continue their ascent up the board in Team Total Hits, especially with Framber Valdez averaging less than one Hit Against per Inning Pitched and a FIP of 3.82. With both offenses projected to underwhelm, expect Bubic and Valdez to keep a clean sheet in the first inning.

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Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds - Jonathan Cannon vs. Andrew Abbott (6:40 PM, EST)

Under 0.5 Run (-105) at BetMGM Sportsbook

It has been a rough past couple of weeks for the Cincinnati Reds as they continue to fall down the oddsboard for the NL Central division title after going 3-7 in their last 10 contests. Their offense struggling to get into scoring position has played a major role in their struggles as NL MVP contender Elly de la Cruz is averaging less than one Hit per game and an OPS of .705 while Matt McLain possesses a Batting Average of 0.165 and a OPS of 0.597.

Their struggles with making contact bodes well for Jonathan Cannon as the Chicago White Sox pitcher has struggled with keeping opposing runners off the bases as his WHIP of 1.455 indicates. To help limit the amount of contact variance even further, the Chicago White Sox back end have also managed to play at a competitive level as their defense ranks in the top half of the board in Defensive Efficiency.

On the other side of the field, Andrew Abbott has a great opportunity to sustain his high marks on the mound as he faces off against a White Sox offense who ranks below league average in Team Total Hits, RBIs, Total Runs Scored, and in On Base Percentage. Especially with Abbott excelling at avoiding contact while generating a high rate of Whiffs as the Reds pitcher averages less than one Hit Against and more than one Strikeout per Inning Pitched.

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Best YRFI Bets Today

• Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves - Michael Soroka vs. Spencer Schwellenbach - Positive regression looms large over the Atlanta Braves star studded offense as they face off against the Washington Nationals Michael Soroka who averages an ERA of 7.20 and one Hit Against per Inning Pitched.

• Colorado Rockies vs. Texas Rangers - Kyle Freeland vs. Jack Leiter - With Kyle Freeland and Jack Leiter struggling to keep opposing runners off the bases as their WHIPs of 1.653 and 1.304 indicates, expect the Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers top of their orders to get into scoring position early on in their contest and bring home their runners in the first inning.

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