Best NRFI Bets This Weekend, April 8-9

Royals vs Giants - Bardy Singer (R) vs Sean Manaea (L)

Under 0.5 (-125 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

The Royals have been held to one or zero runs in four of their seven games. Kansas City has gotten some offense but is taking a couple of times through the lineup to get going. They have failed to score in the first inning in six of their seven games this year. The Royals have a .167 batting average.

The Giant’s offense has been better, but they have scored a run in the first inning just once this season. The top of their lineup has not performed well to begin the season, with LaMonte Wade, Michael Conforto, and David Villar, with an average below .300 early in the season. Behind them is Joc Pederson, who has struggled to find consistency early in the year. They are tenth in the MLB on average as of Friday but will be challenged by young Royals’ starter Brady Singer.

Singer is coming off a 2022 season where he went 10-5 with a 3.23 ERA. He looks to be in for another good season after giving up two hits and a run over five innings in his first start. Most of this Giants team has yet to see him, giving Singer an advantage through the first inning.

Sean Manaea may be coming close to the end of his career, following up a brutal 2022 run by giving up three runs in two innings out of the bullpen last week. That came on the road and in relief, so expect him to find some comfort early at home in his first start.

Brewers vs Cardinals - Eric Lauer (L) vs Jodan Montgomery (L)

Over 0.5 (-111 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

This is one of my favorite bets for the weekend. The Brewers have one of the hottest offenses in baseball and will be starting a pitcher notorious for getting into trouble early. It also helps that they are playing a Cardinals team desperate to get back into the win column. 

After dropping their opener, the Brewers won their next six games over the Cubs and Mets. They scored a total of 38 runs during the win streak and are top ten in the league on average (.281), home runs (9), RBIs (38), and stolen bases (5). They have scored at least seven runs in their previous four games and will do so again against Jordan Montgomery.

The Cardinals need to get a win. Since exploding for nine runs in their opener, St. Louis has scored a total of 12 in the next six games. It isn’t a lack of talent, with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras in the heart of the lineup. All three have hit the ball well against Milwaukee, especially Contreras.

The last reason we love this bet is Eric Lauer. The veteran starter was beaten up early in his first start, giving up two runs in his first two innings (one in the first inning). The veteran went 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA against the Cardinals last season.

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks - Noah Syndergaard (R) vs Zach Davis (R)

Over 0.5 (-125 at Caesars Sportsbook)

These teams will be facing each other for the sixth time this season. Both pitchers slated to take the mound faced off against each other last week and performed well. However, both teams will see these pitchers for the second time, meaning they’ll have a huge advantage going into Saturday’s game.

Zach Davies made an impressive start against the Dodgers last week, giving up one run over five innings. It was impressive but not very pretty, giving up three hits and two walks. Expect to see the Dodgers jump on Davies early this time, as the Arizona pitcher has not fared well against them in his career. That includes last season, where he posted a 5.82 ERA over five starts. That means he is due for a regression on Saturday, which will happen early.

The Diamondbacks' lineup doesn’t scare many people, and they have a .214 batting average to begin the season. However, they will see Syndergaard for the second time in two weeks. That will turn some of those strikeouts into hits against a veteran pitcher who has struggled with injuries throughout his career. 

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