Best NRFI Bets Today, June 23, 2023

Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays - Zack Greinke (R) vs Zach Eflin (R)

Under 0.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

Our first MLB NRFI bet for Friday comes from Tampa, where the Kansas City Royals will visit the Tampa Bay Rays. It is a battle of Zack vs Zach on the mound in that game, as Zack Greinke will match up with Zach Eflin at Tropicana Field. Here, we expect both Zack and Zach to get through the opening inning of play without a run crossing the plate.

Zack Greinke’s numbers have not been elite this year, as he enters this contest with a 1-7 record and a 4.81 ERA. But he does still have enough control to make things difficult on the Rays, as he has issued just 10 walks in 76.2 innings of work on the season. He will force the Rays to earn anything they get, and that will include the first inning where he should be able to hang up a zero on the board.

Zach Eflin, meanwhile, has been excellent for the Tampa Bay Rays so far this season. He is 8-3 with an ERA of 3.26, and his numbers get even better at home. At Tropicana Field, Eflin is 7-0 with a 1.85 ERA, and he should continue to dominate at his home park to start this game with a scoreless top of the first inning.

Seattle Mariners vs Baltimore Orioles - Logan Gilbert (R) vs Kyle Gibson (R)

Under 0.5 (-120 at FanDuel)

The surprising Baltimore Orioles will host the Seattle Mariners on Friday night, in another contest that we expect to see a scoreless first inning. The Mariners send Logan Gilbert to the mound for this game, while the Orioles send Kyle Gibson to the hill. Both of those pitchers are more than capable of putting zeroes on the board to help us hit our second NRFI bet on the Friday MLB slate.

Gilbert enters this contest at 4-4 with a 4.31 ERA, while Gibson comes into it at 8-4 with an ERA of 3.94. Neither of these pitchers are the best of the best in baseball, but they are certainly good enough to make a positive impression on this game in the opening inning of play. Look for exactly that to happen as Gilbert will dig in early before the Orioles lineup gets a good look at him.

Also working in the favor of the first inning under for this game is the fact that the Mariners struggle to string hits together the way that they do. Seattle ranks 29th out of 30 MLB teams in hits on the season so far, and their inability to line up hits one after the other will help them remain off the scoreboard in the top of the first inning in this matchup.

Milwaukee Brewers vs Cleveland Guardians - Wade Miley (L) vs Shane Bieber (R)

Under 0.5 (-120 at BetMGM)

The final NRFI bet on our card for Friday is for the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians to also have a scoreless first inning of play. This game features two excellent starters, combined with a couple of teams that are not exactly offensive powerhouses. All of that should add up to a first inning that does not see any runs scored to close out our day of MLB NRFI action.

The two pitchers in this matchup are Wade Miley of the Brewers and Shane Bieber of the Guardians. Miley is 4-2 with a 3.28 ERA, while Bieber is 5-4 with a 3.51 ERA. Both pitchers should be more than good enough to keep the opposition off of the scoreboard in the first inning, especially when you look at the offensive statistics for both sides going into this Friday night affair.

Both the Guardians and the Brewers are in the bottom-five in MLB in runs scored this season, despite both teams being in second place in their respective divisions. These teams clearly prefer to win with pitching and defense above all else, and that will once again be their path to victory in this game. That will start with a run-free first inning from Progressive Field in Northeast Ohio.