Don't be surprised if the Yankees' Aaron Judge is responsible for the long-awaited first run – and our first bet – of the 2020 MLB seasonKathy Willens (Associated Press)

BoopProps Thursday - Baseball: Nationals vs. Yankees, Giants vs. Dodgers, Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Aaron Judge

Thursday, July 23

We aren’t sure exactly how the rest of the first two games of the 2020 baseball season may play out, but we think we have a pretty good beat on how the first inning of the first game should go, based on oh-so-little and not-nearly-scientific information.

There were runs scored in the first inning of all three Yankees Summer Camp games and two of the three Nationals contests saw digits in the first stanza.

Yes, we know that Gerrit Cole (the 2019 American League ERA leader) and three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer will be on the mound, but all we need is a quick dinger off either . . . or a couple of bloops and another bloop. We will take it any way we can.

Remember, neither of those aces has ever made a start in this very unique setting – a late-July Opener in front of fewer people than attended my first wedding.

We are not nearly as confident we will see a run before there are six outs in Game 2 (Dodgers-Giants), but let’s include them in the fun anyway. (For the record, there were runs in the first frame in just two of the five combined Camp games those teams played.)

Instead of throwing the full weight of our $10 bet on the first game, let’s halve it and throw the other $5 on a parlay of runs in both first innings.

● ● ●

Run Scored in First Inning –

$5/$5.75 . . . Yankees/Nationals (+115)

$5/$16.71 . . . Both Games (+334)

MLB