Today's Best NRFI/YRFI Bets for Saturday, May 17

With both teams swinging hot bats and strong winds blowing out at Oracle Park, we expect early runs in tonight's Bay Bridge Series showdown.

Rohit Ponnaiya - Betting Analyst at Covers.com
Rohit Ponnaiya • Betting Analyst
May 17, 2025 • 13:10 ET • 4 min read
Jacob Wilson Athletics MLB
Photo By - Imagn Images. Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) reacts after hitting a two run home run.

The Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres clash in an interleague showdown at Petco Park today.

Both of those teams have been generating runs early in games, and my MLB picks are betting on one of them to score in the first inning tonight.

Here are my best YRFI and NRFI bets for Saturday, May 17.

Best NRFI/YRFI bets today

  • Nationals @ Orioles Run in the first inning – YES
  • Mariners @ Padres Run in the first inning – YES
  • Athletics @ Giants Run in the first inning – YES

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NRFI/YRFI bets for May 17

Nationals at Orioles: YRFI (-135 at ProphetX)

Although the Baltimore Orioles have underperformed at the dish this year, they are fourth in the majors in hard-hit rate and exit velocity, so expect positive regression.

The O's have a favorable matchup at home today against the Washington Nationals and Jake Irvin. The right-hander has an expected ERA of 5.76 through nine starts, and he has pitched to a woeful 9.00 ERA in the first inning.

Baltimore also has a poor starter in Kyle Gibson, who has struggled since being signed from the scrap heap in late March. Gibson sports an ugly ERA of 13.11 through three starts, and opponents are batting .579 against him in the opening frame.

Mariners at Padres: YRFI (play at ProphetX)

The San Diego Padres are loaded at the top of their lineup with Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez, Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Xander Bogaerts.

They should get on the board early tonight against Seattle Mariners righty Emerson Hancock, who has a 6.91 ERA with a 1.71 WHIP through six starts. Hancock has been getting torched in the first inning, where he has pitched to a 15.88 ERA with an OBA of .483.

San Diego is tied with Seattle for third in the majors in first-inning run rate (37.2%). What makes that especially impressive is that the M's home field is an extreme pitcher's park, and they score a run in the first inning in 57.9% of their games on the road.

Athletics at Giants: YRFI (+100 at ProphetX)

The Athletics are 10th in the majors in OPS (.738) and plate a run in the first inning at the 11th-highest rate (31.1%).

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants have an impressive OPS of .752 at home. There's also strong 24 mph winds blowing towards the outfield at Oracle Park tonight, which should lead to better offense for both sides.

Both teams also have mediocre starters on the mound. San Francisco is giving the pill to Landon Roup, who had a 4.95 ERA with an OBA of .286 through eight starts. The A's respond with Luis Severino, who has a 4.70 ERA with an expected batting average of .295 across nine starts.

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Betting Analyst

With a background playing soccer, rugby, and boxing, combined with a journalism degree, it's little surprise that Rohit gravitated towards the world of sports betting. He specializes in betting on UFC and college basketball, two sports where the eyeball test can tell you a lot more about matchups than any analytics. Rohit has years of experience handicapping NFL and NBA games as well as niche betting markets such as politics and Oscar odds. He's also the resident CFL expert and formerly hosted "The Chez and Ro Show" with former CFL star Davis Sanchez.

You can catch Rohit breaking down every UFC event with Joe Osborne on "P4P Picks" on the Covers YouTube channel and he also has regular appearances on "Before You Bet" with Joe. In addition, he's a regular guest on "By The Book" on the Monumental Sports Network and makes guest appearances on VSIN's "The Handle" and CBS Sports.

Rohit primarily makes his bets at bet365, which offers a wide variety of prop markets, but also has accounts at several others so he can shop around for the best prices. For Rohit, bankroll management is key. He believes you should never bet what you can't afford to lose and maximize those few betting opportunities where books misprice a line.

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