There is no football to contend with and a total of 17 games on the Major League Baseball schedule Tuesday. It promises to be an intriguing day of action, one that could be made even more special with some quality first-inning scoring bets. Excluding day games and matchups without any starters, we’re left with a handful of contests to choose from. Here are a few MLB picks suggestions for some of the more difficult decisions on the docket.
Braves vs Giants
This one’s a bit tricky. Kyle Wright is starting for Atlanta Braves and coming off a brutal start at Oakland in which he was pounded for a season-high eight runs in four innings. However, he tossed 14 scoreless over his previous two outings. However (again), those two starts came after he needed to sit for a bit due to arm fatigue.
So will we get a tired Wright trying to figure out how to get back on track? Or will the MLB leader in wins (17) rediscover that dominance he showed to close out August?
Perhaps it’ll be something in between, in which case we can simply look at his basic splits and guess that they’ll be somewhere in that range. Wright has a 3.12 ERA in the first inning, limiting opponents to a tiny .586 OPS.
While he struggled a bit against San Francisco Giants earlier in the year, including the allowance of a first-inning run,, he’s given up a tally in that opening frame in just three of 12 starts since. And the Giants don’t do that all too often – they rank 27th in the majors in first-inning scoring percentage (21.3).
The tricky part for Wright’s counterpart, Jakob Junis, is that he simply has to give up a first-inning run at some point. The 29-year-old has tossed a scoreless opening frame in each of his 15 starts in 2022 after posting a 4.96 first-inning ERA through his first five seasons.
However, it’s hard to simply go with a hunch. The sample size is large enough to make a bet online in favor of Junis and Wright to lock down their respective opponents early.
Take a Look at Other Analysis, Picks & Predictions for Braves vs Giants
- Braves vs Giants Prediction, Preview, Stream, Odds & Picks, Sep,14.
- Braves vs Giants Prediction, Preview, Stream, Odds & Picks, Sept.13
First Inning to Score: NO
Orioles vs Nationals
There was a time early in the season when we’d stare at the MLB lines and peg Washington to score early on several pitchers, and it often came to fruition. When the team had Juan Soto and Josh Bell doing their thing, it was a formidable first-inning bunch that led the majors in scoring percentage in that frame well into the season.
Predictably, that percentage has fallen. What’s striking is how far and how quickly it has fallen. On May 31, the Washington Nationals stood alone in first in that category by scoring 42.0% of the time, slightly better than the Los Angeles Dodgers. By the end of June they were down to 34.6% and by the end of July – days before the Soto and Bell trades – it had sunk to 29.4%.
As Washington opens this two-game series against Baltimore, it ranks tied for 19th in baseball with a 26.2% rate. Dean Kremer will try to keep that trend alive and he’s a good bet to do so. The 26-year-old has a 2.40 first-inning ERA in the first inning over his last 15 starts and he also started with a scoreless frame in a long relief outing his last time out.
While the Nationals continue to sink in the first-inning scoring ranks, they get a bit closer to the Baltimore Orioles, who have been at or near the basement in the category all year. Cory Abbott will be charged with keeping Baltimore off the board early on as he makes his sixth start for Washington.
Abbott has not allowed a first-inning run in his first five starts. We like that to continue and recommend an NRFI (No Runs First Inning) wager at the sportsbook.
First Inning to Score: NO
Rockies vs White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are banking on Michael Kopech to help get them to the postseason and factor prominently in whatever October brings, but they’ll need to see more than he’s given of late.
After giving up four runs without recording an out and leaving with a knee injury at Kansas City on Aug. 22, Kopech had a rocky return from the injured list last Wednesday at Seattle, allowing four runs in 3⅔ innings. While the first inning was scoreless against the Mariners, he has a 5.56 ERA for the season in the opening frame, during which opponents have as many walks (19) as strikeouts.
Kopech kept the Rockies off the board through 5⅓ innings in an earlier encounter, but he needed three double plays to help bail him out of some jams.
His counterpart, Chad Kuhl, will be tasked with trying to slow down a Chicago offense that is averaging over six runs per game and hitting .289 during its current 9-3 surge. That won’t be easy early, as Kuhl owns a 6.65 first-inning ERA with an even worse (if you can believe it) strikeout-to-walk ratio than Kopech, having issued 15 walks while fanning 13.
Kuhl’s overall ERA over the last nine games is 9.08, so roughly a run per inning. See what the MLB predictions are giving you but expect the White Sox to tee off on him, early and often.
First Inning to Score: YES
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