Best NRFI Bets Today: Paul Skenes Highlights Our Favorite NRFI for Thursday

The NRFI is one of the most popular bets in all of sports. There is some good value for a couple of these bets on Thursday.

The first NRFI we’re looking at is the Giants and Pirates as we will see Paul Skenes make his third start of the year.

The second NRFI we’re going with is in the Blue Jays vs. Tigers game. 

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Best NRFI Bets Today: Giants vs. Pirates (12:35 PM, EST)

1st Inning Under 0.5 Runs (-115) at DraftKings

The first NRFI we’re looking at is the Giants vs. Pirates game on Thursday afternoon. San Francisco is 23-26 in 2024, putting them in fourth place in the NL West. 

The Pirates are in third place in the NL Central at 23-26. Both teams are looking to gain some ground, and string some wins together before the All-Star break. 

San Francisco is starting Mason Black who is 0-1 this year with a 7.71 ERA. He has struck out eight batters in 11.2 innings. 

This is usually a pitcher we avoid when selecting our NRFI bets, but Pittsburgh hasn’t scored in the first inning in four straight games. We are going to ride the streak and take Black to get a simple three outs.

Pittsburgh is going with rookie sensation, Paul Skenes, who is coming off an outstanding start last week in his second outing this year. In that game, he went six innings of no-hit baseball and surrendered zero runs. 

Skenes left the game with a no-hitter due to a high pitch count. He is 1-0 on the year with a 2.70 ERA. 

With Skenes coming off a great start and Pittsburgh not scoring in the first inning as of late, we’re expecting a clean first inning.

Bet on Under 0.5 Runs (-115) at DraftKings

Best NRFI Bets Today: Blue Jays vs. Tigers  (6:40 PM, EST)

1st Inning Under 0.5 Runs (-150) at DraftKings

Detroit is hosting Toronto on Thursday night for the first game of this series. The Blue Jays are 21-26 on the year in last place in the AL East. 

The Tigers are 23-25 this season which puts them in fourth place, 8.5 games back behind Cleveland in the AL Central. 

Toronto is starting Kevin Gausman who is 2-3 this season with a 4.89 ERA. Gausman has been pretty solid throughout his career but has struggled this season along with the entire Blue Jays roster. 

We look at this matchup as a get-back game for Gausman and Toronto to help lead them in the right direction of getting above .500. To do this, Gausman must start this game off on the right track and have a clean first inning. 

Detroit is throwing Jack Flaherty in this matchup who is 1-3 this season with a 3.79 ERA. Flaherty is in a very similar situation to Gausman this year as they have both been solid throughout their careers, but have struggled in 2024.

Flaherty is one of the nastiest pitchers in baseball and has shown that in recent years. Expect Flaherty to get back to himself in this matchup and to have a solid outing for the Tigers. 

Both of these pitchers have been great over their careers and have shown us they can be great pitchers in this league. Expect both of these guys to get the job done in the first inning on Thursday.

Bet on Under 0.5 Runs (-150) at DraftKings

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