NRFI Night in America: 2 Huge Hermo Locks for the Best Bet in Sports

Tonight and every Tuesday during the MLB season is NRFI Night in America, and we are on fire.

What's an NRFI? It's a baseball betting proposition that stands for "no-run first inning," in which you bet there will be zero runs scored in the first frame.

• 2021 NRFI record: 108-62 (63.5%)
• 2021 YRFI record: 21-20 (51.2%)

As posted on Twitter @TroyHermo.

There is an old saying that more or less goes: If you're not progressing and getting better, then you are regressing and getting worse. I try my best to always learn new ways to cap, new angles and new sets of information to help me become the best capper I can be.

I've started a project called "The Map." The Map is a full breakdown of a first-inning bet. It has stats for both sides and everything that I use to look at NRFIs, YRFIs and even complete games. It's still in beta, but you should check it out on my Twitter. I post as many as I can, even if I don't have a play on that game.

The Map is your one-stop shop for first-inning information. Let it guide you to your own NRFI and YRFI bets. Let me know what else you would like to see on these in the comments below. What stat turns your leans into locks?

You know the drill by now. Every Tuesday, I'll sift through the first-inning stats and hitter analysis to give the best plays available on the card. You can also follow my daily plays in the B/R Betting community section. Odds for every NRFI line can be found on DraftKings.

Now, let's get to the locks for this week.

NRFI Night in America: The Hermo Hammer Plays of the Week

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

2-Unit Play: Washington Nationals (Max Scherzer) at Philadelphia Phillies (Zack Wheeler) [-148]

The Scoop

'Mad' Max Scherzer

• Max Scherzer has a 10-2 NRFI record this year with an impressive 2.92 first-inning ERA. He's also averaging only 3.5 batters faced in those innings.
• The meat of the Phillies lineup has struggled against Scherzer: Rhys Hoskins is 0-for-20, J.T. Realmuto is 4-for-43, and Bryce Harper is 1-for-7. You've got to like those NRFI-friendly stat lines.
• Scherzer has a 9-0 NRFI record at Citizens Bank Park, making this start extremely vibey.

Zack Wheeler

• Zack Wheeler has an 11-3 NRFI record on the year and a 19-3 career NRFI record at Citizens Bank Park.
• In his last two outings, the 31-year-old righty hasn't allowed a run over 14 innings.
• A couple of the Nationals' key hitters don't see Wheeler well. Kyle Schwarber is 1-for-8 and Juan Soto is 6-for-27 with 10 strikeouts against him.

Scherzer is going to be rested and ready to roll after coming off the injured list. This same matchup cashed for NRFI bettors June 4, with the first inning seeing six batters up and six batters down. You should have the utmost confidence that we will get six outs with no runs again.

2-Unit Play Kansas City Royals (Brady Singer) at New York Yankees (Gerrit Cole) [-127]

Adam Hunger/Associated Press

The Scoop

Brady Singer

• Brady Singer has a 1.93 first-inning ERA with an average of 3.9 batters faced in those innings.
• He heads into tonight's start with a 13-1 NRFI record on the year. The 24-year-old gets outs early and often.

Gerrit Cole

• Gerrit Cole has a 7-0 NRFI record at Yankee Stadium this year. He is 12-2 overall with both YRFIs coming against the Toronto Blue Jays.
• The Yankees ace has a 1.29 first-inning ERA and is averaging 3.8 batters faced in those innings this year. For context, anything below four is really good.

1 More NRFI Play

1-Unit Play: Atlanta Braves (Charlie Morton) at New York Mets (Marcus Stroman) [-121]

Both pitchers head into this National League East matchup with strong NRFI numbers. Charlie Morton has a 1.32 first-inning ERA, while Marcus Stroman is not far behind with a 1.93 first-inning ERA and averages 3.8 batters faced in the first inning.

A YRFI Play

1-Unit Play: Chicago White sox (Lucas Giolito) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Tyler Anderson) [-106]

Lucas Giolito has a 9.00 first-inning ERA in away games. Tyler Anderson struggles in the first inning as well with a 8.31 first-inning ERA this year. Collectively, the two pitchers are averaging 8.4 batters faced in first frames. Buckle up and watch the runs come in.

Trap Games I'm Staying Away From

Ashley Landis/Associated Press

Los Angeles Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw) at San Diego Padres (Blake Snell) [YRFI -105; NRFI-127]

Kershaw has a 6.43 first-inning ERA on the road. Snell, on the other hand, hasn't given up a run at Petco Park in six first innings this year. Still, there's too much risk for a play.

Milwaukee Brewers (Freddy Peralta) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Zac Gallen) [YRFI -106; NRFI -118]

Peralta has a 7.50 first-inning ERA on the road, so don't get tempted by his overall NRFI record (12-1). Gallen's 1.50 first-inning ERA is intriguing, but he averages 4.3 batters faced in first innings, meaning luck is likely playing a role in keeping his numbers that low.

As always, the research pays, and the stats don't lie. Until next week, NRFI nation!