Today’s YRFI/NRFI Best Bets: Expect Early Scoring in Cubs & Dodgers 9/9

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2 NRFI/YRFI Best Bets for Sept. 9

1. Angels vs Twins: A Festa-vus for the rest of us

Minnesota is holding onto the last wild card spot in the AL, but it’s not doing itself any favors with three straight losses at Kansas City over the weekend. Perhaps a return home to take on the lowly Angels will help right the ship.

Minnesota Twins rookie David Festa has popped up in our RIFI roundups a few times lately and we see another opportunity to lean on the Seton Hall product. He rarely goes all that deep into games but has a tidy 3.13 ERA over his last eight appearances (seven starts).

We’ve mentioned this before but it bears repeating. Festa is the classic second-time-around pitcher, who dominates the first time through the lineup but often gets beaten up once teams have had a look. This being his first time taking on the Angels gives us another opportunity to get behind this trend.

The 24-year-old’s ERA in the first inning is 0.93 and it’s at 0.90 in the second. We go up to 5.40 in the third and then 11.00 in the fourth, in case you’re looking for an MLB bet on a later frame. Nobody scores fewer runs in the first inning on the road than the Angels (0.30). Festa should be fine for a little bit.

Reid Detmers is on the hill for Los Angeles, making his second start since returning from the minors. Detmers is loaded with promise and started this year off well before the bottom fell out, but we’re bullish on his abilities. The fact that he held the Dodgers to two runs over six frames while striking out 10 last week only increases our confidence that he has the goods.

Even factoring in the slump that sent him to the minors in June, Detmers was dominant in the first inning, posting 13 scoreless opening frames this year. Opponents are hitting just .156 against him in that inning, and the Twins have scored a grand total of two runs during the three-game slide.

Bet on Angels-Twins First Inning to Score – NO 

2. Cubs vs Dodgers: Walker Buehler’s day on

Los Angeles has been an excellent MLB baseball bet, not losing a series in over a month, going 9-0-2 in that span. That’s a remarkably steady pace that has allowed the club to open up a six-game lead in the NL West with 19 to play.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to take a step closer to what would be their 11th division title in the last 12 years when they welcome Chicago to town. Walker Buehler, who is showing signs of finding himself in the wake of another Tommy John surgery recovery, is on the bump for the opener.

While he and his club are hopeful that Buehler will be a factor down the stretch and in October, we’re still waiting on a clean outing, or anything close to it. That hasn’t happened since mid-May. And that’s especially true of the early portions of games – he has an 8.25 ERA in the first inning and a 6.75 mark in the second, a sign of a guy who’s struggling to get into a rhythm.

The Cubs’ recent offensive explosion came to a crashing halt with a low-scoring weekend series against the Yankees, but they can do damage here. They’re eighth in the majors in first-inning homers and that’s been an issue for Buehler, who sports a career-worst 2.2 home runs-per-nine innings ratio.

Speaking of allowing home runs, Kyle Hendricks is three away from having given up the second most in franchise history behind only Ferguson Jenkins. Twenty have come in this, his worst season by far.

Hendricks has actually been pretty good in the opening stanza this year (1.80 ERA), but it feels like a mirage with ugly numbers the rest of the way. Also, two of the MLB four first-inning runs he has allowed came in the one matchup with Los Angeles, so there’s some precedent here.

That vaunted top third of the Dodgers lineup is a combined 10-for-26 (.385) with two homers vs Hendricks, with Shohei Ohtani notching a home run and a double in just three career encounters.

He’s been in a pretty great groove, to put it lightly. For your MLB predictions, expect some early damage here.

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?

Shohei Ohtani’s 46th home run, which ties a career high 😤 pic.twitter.com/0rVwgNfHK7

— MLB (@MLB) September 8, 2024

Bet on Cubs-Dodgers First Inning to Score – YES

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets.

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