Ralph Michaels Betting Picks, Futures, & Predictions

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Picks pending, please check back later

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OPENING WEEK SCHEDULE WITH LINES AS THE CFB SEASON KICKS OFF ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 23RD!

Take notes and track line moves throughout the Summer.
The odds are from DraftKings on Tuesday, May 27th!
They are taken from the FREE WagerTalk Score/Odds page - wt.buzz/odds

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First-Inning Report for Saturday, August 23, 2025.

The WagerTalk First Inning Report from Ralph Michaels is your daily cheat sheet for YRFI/NRFI betting.

Full game lines and totals with teams that scored in the first inning (and who gave one up)
Current streaks (3+ straight 1st inning results highlighted)
Starting pitchers listed — Lefty indicators included
* shows which teams faced a lefty

From trend chasers to prop hunters, this chart is built for quick-glance insights and actionable info.

Updated every morning with the freshest MLB data — only at WagerTalk!

PLUS…..RALPH LOADS A FREE FIRST INNING PLAY DAILY BY NOON ET M-F AND BY 11 AM ET SAT & SUN ON HIS HOME PAGE - WT.BUZZ/RM

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Free Picks

Sport

Game Selection

Game Time

CFB

(309) Fresno State at (310) Kansas

6:30pm EDT - Aug 23/2025

THE PLAY: Total Under 50.5 (-115)

(309) Fresno State at (310) Kansas

Total Under 50.5 (-115)

Sport

Game Selection

Game Time

MLB

(951) Washington Nationals at (952) Philadelphia Phillies

6:05pm EDT - Aug 23/2025

THE PLAY: 1I Total Over 0.5 (-135) M Parker (LHP), A Nola (RHP) Must Start

(951) Washington Nationals at (952) Philadelphia Phillies

1I Total Over 0.5 (-135) M Parker (LHP), A Nola (RHP) Must Start

Washington is 4-0 YRFI away as well as 8-1 YRFI

Philly is 3-0 YRFI

Parker has allowed a first inning run in 11 of 25 starts.

Nola has allowed a first inning run in 3 of 10 starts.

Sport

Game Selection

Game Time

MLB

(957) New York Mets at (958) Atlanta Braves

7:15pm EDT - Aug 23/2025

THE PLAY: 1I Total Under 0.5 (+105) C Holmes (RHP), C Quantrill (RHP) Must Start

(957) New York Mets at (958) Atlanta Braves

2% First Inning Total Under 0.5 (+105) C Holmes (RHP), C Quantrill (RHP) Must Start

A plus money NRFI with a total of 9.5 but the starters have been solid NRFI plays.
The Mets are 5-1 NRFI
NY has scored a first inning run 4 times in their L17 games.
Atlanta is 7-1 NRFI
Atlanta has scored a first inning run only once in their L9 games and once in their L8 home games.
Holmes is 20-5 (80%) allowing a first inning run (25 starts, 20 games no 1st inning run allowed).
Quantrill was 18-6 (75%) at MIami

WagerTalk TV

Last 20

Date

Sport

Pick

Result

Aug 23

NFL

5% – Parlay: CLE -380 with MIA -260
(Analysis)

pending

Aug 21

NFL

2% – 1H Pittsburgh Steelers -2.5 (-120)
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 20

MLB

2% – (903) New York Mets at (904) Washington Nationals 1I Total Under 0.5 (-115) K Senga (RHP), B Lord (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 19

MLB

3% – (971) Toronto Blue Jays at (972) Pittsburgh Pirates 1I Total Under 0.5 (-130) M Scherzer (RHP), M Keller (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 18

MLB

3% – (905) Los Angeles Dodgers at (906) Colorado Rockies 1I Total Over 0.5 (-135) Y Yamamoto (RHP), K Freeland (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 17

MLB

2% – (953) Milwaukee Brewers at (954) Cincinnati Reds 1I Total Under 0.5 (-135) J Quintana (LHP), A Abbott (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 17

MLB

2% – (971) Miami Marlins Prop: Junk under 3.5 K’s -130
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 17

NFL

2% – (429) Buffalo Bills at (430) Chicago Bears Total Over 40.5 (-110)
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 16

NFL

3% – Tampa Bay Buccaneers -145
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 16

NFL

2% – (409) Carolina Panthers at (410) Houston Texans Total Under 39.5 (-105)
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 16

NFL

3% – Las Vegas Raiders -4.0 (-115)
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 16

MLB

3% – (917) Detroit Tigers at (918) Minnesota Twins 1H Total Under 0.5 (-110) C Mize (RHP), Z Matthews (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 15

NFL

2% – Seattle Seahawks -155
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 14

MLB

2% – (909) Detroit Tigers at (910) Minnesota Twins 1I Total Under 0.5 (-135) T Skubal (LHP), B Ober (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 13

MLB

4% – (957) Philadelphia Phillies at (958) Cincinnati Reds 1I Total Under 0.5 (-135) C Sanchez (LHP), H Greene (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 12

MLB

4% – (907) Colorado Rockies at (908) St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals Total Over 4.5 (-120) K Freeland (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 10

NFL

2% – 1H Los Angeles Chargers 0.0 (-110)
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 10

MLB

2% – (929) Toronto Blue Jays at (930) Los Angeles Dodgers 1I Total Under 0.5 (-110) E Lauer (LHP), T Glasnow (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 09

NFL

4% – Buffalo Bills -150
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 09

NFL

3% – Tennessee Titans -3.0 (-115)
(Analysis)

Loss

Consultant Bio

Ralph was raised in the home of handicappers in Cleveland, Ohio. Starting in the industry as a key member of Phil Steele's early team, which expanded Northcoast Sports during the mid-90s. Ralph's personal following grew fast, allowing him to strike out on his own as the founder of California Sports. Over the next dozen years as General Manager of Phil Steele Publications and lead handicapper of Northcoast Sports, Ralph managed the creation of some of the most popular sports betting content ever, including Phil Steele's College Football Preview Magazine and Northcoast's Power Sweep Newsletter. Content displaying expertise so elite that Ralph was invited into college football's most exclusive club: Heisman Trophy Voter
Ralph Michaels has a math mind, steadily searching for a value in the numbers in addition to matchup edges, situational advantages, and hidden gems of information. Ralph finds more big bets in the college versions of football and basketball, but his handicapping approach also uncovers selective winners in the professional leagues like MLB. Small conferences are particularly profitable due to mispriced injuries and his profiling of exploitable coaching tendencies.

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