Live and Die by the YRFI / NRFI

Anyone that follows baseball has been tempted by NRFI and YRFI bets. But they should also know they are playing with fire. Can someone try to cap what will happen in first innings? An argument could be made that it is possible, but at the end of the day, no number hours labbing could have spared some bettors from these gross outcomes. I look at these from the losing perspective because those losses really should have been the winners given these circumstances.

THE SEAN MANAEA HOUDINI ACT (YRFI)

The first unfortunate outcome comes from a Mets/Guardians game. YRFI bettors probably thought they were sitting real pretty after Manaea started the game with a hit by pitch, a single, and walked batter. So the scenario is bases loaded with no outs and a pitcher that has not been at his best most of the year. Anything could work now for YRFI folk; a sac fly, a sac bunt, a line drive, a squeaked grounder, whatever. But fate had other plans. Manaea, in a remarkable feat that would raise the eyebrows of Randy Johnson himself, followed up with a three-pitch strikeout, a strikeout swinging, and a ground out right to the bag, escaping the no outs, bases loaded jam. Unsurprisingly, the bottom of the inning saw no runs, either, chalking all YRFI bets. 

BALKING AT THE NRFI

The second bad break came in Chicago, as the Cubs with David Peterson took on Dylan Cease and the Jays. At first glance, this is a tailor-made, juicy NRFI parlay piece with two well-known and respected pitchers on the bump. And it almost cashed. Almost. Peterson, for whatever reason, decided he could pick off the runner on first… by disengaging a third time with a runner on third base. That, of course, is a no-no unless he manages to get the runner out, which he fails to do and balks in a run. Imagine a -160ish NRFI chalking on a balk? Couldn't be me. Worth noting there were no runs the next five innings.

NOT FAST ENOUGH IN NEW YORK (YRFI FAIL)

Our last, first inning disaster is from the Yankees and Braves pitcher duel last Friday night. In all honesty, most people were probably on this NRFI with Max Fried pitching, so a great outcome for them. For those brave enough to take the YRFI, their downfall came on a heads-up defensive play. In what should have been an easy hit and run batted in, Albies, coming from first, tries his luck going to get to third base with two outs. Even his speed was not enough to avoid the dot toward third and the tag being applied on time. All this before the first Braves run touches home to score, giving Fried a little revenge against his former team. The worst part was how unnecessary it was given he would have been in scoring position at second base, anyway. Good night to YRFI bettors. 

And that tops off a tumultuous set of first inning outcomes we simply do not see every day. Shout out to the coin flip bettors, cheers to those that survived their NRFI/YRFI bet, and pour one out for those that didn't.  - Richay