YRFI Bets Today: Best First Inning Picks and Predictions for Saturday, May 23
It's a busy Saturday with an extra game after the St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds was postponed Friday. They have a doubleheader, which makes for 16 games in the MLB sphere.
The Atlanta Braves take on the underwhelming Washington Nationals. The Nats are poised to throw a pitcher with one of the highest ERAs in baseball in the first inning, which looks awfully mouthwatering when trying to cash some YRFIs.
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Best YRFI Bets Today
Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves YRFI (-125)
The Nats throw RHP Jake Irvin on Saturday, and he has allowed 12 earned runs in 10 first frames this season. Opponents are hitting .311 off him in the first. Braves OF Ronald Acuna Jr. is 3-for-6 with a triple off him lifetime. Braves RHP Grant Holmes has issues in the first as well with a 6.00 ERA in nine starts. Both sides have a good shot to cash in Saturday.
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds Game 1 YRFI (-TBD)
The Cards and Reds were postponed Friday, and their pitching matchup aligns perfectly for us in Game 1 at 1:10 p.m. The Cards are throwing RHP Andre Pallante, who has a 9.00 ERA in the first inning. The Reds are throwing newly signed RHP Chris Paddack. He has allowed nine earned runs in the first this season. Granted, six of those came in one start, but he's joining a new team in a hitters' park. Paddack has started once as an opponent in Great American Ball Park, and he allowed four runs in five innings. Both teams are midrange in terms of hitting YRFIs this season. Both teams cashed a YRFI in their previous game before Friday's rainout.
Chicago White Sox at San Francisco Giants YRFI (-110)
White Sox RHP Erick Fedde has rebounded, to a degree, after an awful 2025. He has a 4.30 ERA. A lot of that damage came in the first inning with his 10.29 first-inning ERA as evidence. RHP Adrian Houser has been awful in the first as well with a 9.00 ERA in nine starts. In fact, Houser has been bad in the first inning his entire career. His 5.57 ERA in the first is the worst of any inning in his career.
What Does YRFI Mean in Baseball?
The term YRFI indicates a run is scored in the first inning. Its opposite, NRFI, indicates no runs will be scored in the first inning. It doesn't matter if the run qualifies as an earned run or not. If a run crosses the plate in the first inning for either team, the wager wins for the YRFI side and loses for the NRFI side.
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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 7:30 AM.