Best NRFI Bets Today: Nestor Cortes Returns to Yankee Stadium

The MLB season is underway, which means NRFI bets are back! Below, we’ll share a pair of our favorite bets and why we are locking both in today. If you are looking to upgrade your NRFI betting, we have you covered!

Caesars Sportsbook provides the odds used for our picks below. If you want to create a new Caesars account to bet on MLB games this season, use promo code WSNDYW to claim a “Bet $1, Get Ten 100% Profit Boost Tokens” offer.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. New York Yankees - Nestor Cortes vs. Max Fried (9:00 PM, EST)

Under 0.5 Run (-125) at Caesars Sportsbook

This may be the best pitching matchup of the weekend. On one side will be former Braves’ star Max Friend. The lefty has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last five seasons, despite battling some tough injuries.

Fried will debut with the Yankees today, but he did make a start at Yankee Stadium last season. He dominated a great Yankees offense, allowing one run over six innings. That will give him some confidence and help tone down any jitters from his first start for the historic franchise.

Former Yankee Nestor Cortes will be on the mound for Milwaukee. The veteran returned from missing most of 2023 with an injury to post a solid season last year. Injuries remain a concern, but the lefty will be as healthy as possible in his first start of the season.

Both offenses have a lot of talent, but the pitching will make for a quiet first inning.

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Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers - Walker Buehler vs. Tyler Mahle (7:05 PM, EST)

Under 0.5 Run (-120) at Caesars Sportsbook

These are two dangerous offenses, but their bats will remain silent tonight.

Nobody needed a change of scenery more than Walker Buehler. The former Dodgers’ top prospect has failed to develop into an ace, but we saw some of him show flashes in the final two months of the 2024 season. After a rough first start in the playoffs, Buehler settled down to deliver 10 scoreless innings en route to a World Series title.

Buehler may not have a bounce-back season, but he was electric in Spring Training. He posted a 1.80 ERA across 10 innings, showing his postseason success may not have been a fluke. Expect him to show his improved stuff in his first inning of work.

Tyler Mahle will be making the start for the Rangers. The starter has struggled with significant injuries, leading to some disappointing numbers. However, he has not allowed more than two runs in his first season since his MLB debut in 2017. We don’t know how much Mahle will give the Rangers this season, but we expect him to get off to a strong start tonight.

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Best YRFI Bets Today

• San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds - Justin Verlander vs. Nick Lodolo

  This may be the easiest bet of the weekend. These are two solid offensive teams facing starters who were terrible last season. That includes Justin Verlander, who has seen a sharp regression in the previous two seasons and has shown us he can no longer compete at the MLB level.

• New York Mets vs. Houston Astros - Griffin Canning vs. Spencer Arrighetti

  While Spencer Arrighetti may be set for a breakout season, Griffin Canning struggles to remain in the league. He had a disastrous run with the Angels, posting a 5.17 ERA in three starts against the Astros. Given his 6.06 road ERA in 2024, we expect things to get ugly early for Canning.

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