Jordan Horrobin, Author at The Boost

IPL betting odds and cricket schedule April 18-19: Capitals look to keep top spot in battle vs. Titans

Each of the top four Indian Premier League teams is in action this weekend — against each other — making for some truly compelling matches.

The Delhi Capitals are the only five-win team so far, but they’re still positioned as underdogs against the Gujarat Titans on Saturday morning. The Punjab Kings, looking to match their 2024 win total, are also road underdogs.

Check out our IPL cricket odds for the trio of matchups on April 18-19.

IPL cricket odds

Bet now on the IPL

Rajasthan Royals (-110) vs. Lucknow Super Giants (-110)
Date: April 19 at 10 a.m.

The Royals finished on the wrong end of a super over against the Delhi Capitals last time out, which extended their losing skid to three games.

Adding injury to insult, Rajasthan lost batsman Sanju Samson during the match due to a rib injury. Samson told reporters after the fact that “it feels alright now,” which suggests he at least has a chance to face Lucknow.

Samson figures to be a crucial player in this match after scoring an unbeaten 82 against the Super Giants in last year’s season opener.

That’s the last time these squads met, and the result was a 20-run victory for Rajasthan.

Gujarat Titans (-125) vs. Delhi Capitals (+100)
Date: April 19 at 6 a.m.

This is the most anticipated match of the weekend, with two top-of-the-table clubs squaring off at Gujarat’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

Last April, Delhi earned a dominant, six-wicket victory over Gujarat and held the Titans to just 89 runs. That marked the Titans’ lowest-ever total in IPL play.

Despite that convincing win, and the fact that the Capitals (5-1) are alone atop the IPL standings, the Titans are still the favourite on home soil.

Sai Sudharsan, who’s second in the IPL in total runs (329), is a player to watch. Last year, the young all-rounder for Gujarat became the fastest Indian to reach 1,000 IPL runs (25 innings).

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (-125) vs. Punjab Kings (+100)
Date: April 18 at 10 a.m.

Clawing for a place among the IPL’s elite, either the Challengers or the Kings will improve to 5-2 on Friday.

A 5-2 record could mean a tie for the top spot on the table at the midpoint of the season. And keep in mind that Punjab only won five games in 2024 as a whole.

The Kings are road underdogs on Friday, though, which makes sense when you look at how last year’s tilt played out.

Bengaluru, led by Virat Kohli, chased down Punjab’s 176 runs to win by four wickets. Kohli tallied 77 runs in that match and is second in the IPL in scoring this season (62.0 runs/match).

IPL cricket odds as of 11:55 a.m. on 04/17/25.

Best MLB prop bets April 17: Bet on Witt to score, fade Canning vs. Cardinals

Bobby Witt Jr. is on a roll right now, and I think he can keep that going on Thursday night against the Detroit Tigers.

The pregame narrative: Witt is an elite hitter who also possesses top-tier speed, and that combo makes him a compelling play to score a run. I’m also taking the over on Taj Bradley‘s strikeouts prop and fading Griffin Canning in the same market.

Check out the best MLB prop bets for April 17.

MLB prop bets

Best Bet: Canning under 4.5 strikeouts (-118)

Canning isn’t a flashy guy to have a bet on, but don’t let the lack of brand recognition get in the way of a logical fade.

A perennial back-of-rotation starter, Canning used to at least hover around the 9.0 K/9 rate on an annual basis. But he dipped to a 6.8 K/9 last year, and I’m not confident in him to bump the rate back up.

Canning is trying to simplify things in 2025, cutting the curveball out of his arsenal and sticking to a three-pitch mix. His fastball has below-average velocity (93.3 mph, versus 94.5 mph as the MLB average for righties).

His slider is his out pitch, and he’s throwing it more than 40.0% of the time, per Baseball Savant.

But given that the St. Louis Cardinals — tonight’s opponent — have the fourth-lowest whiff rate on sliders (27.9%), I doubt we’ll see him rack up strikeouts.

St. Louis also has the fifth-lowest K rate in the majors (19.5%). Five consecutive starters have gone under 4.5 Ks against the Cardinals.

Expect Canning to be the sixth.

Key stat: Since the start of last season, Canning has gone under 4.5 Ks in 23 of 34 starts (67.6%).

Best MLB picks

Bradley over 6.5 Ks (-118): Three starts into 2025, Bradley has deployed a balanced attack from the mound, and it’s been effective.

All four of his pitches have a whiff rate between 25.0% and 28.6%. That means none of them have been elite, but each of them (four-seamer, cutter, splitter, curveball) can be called upon based on feel.

Bradley has exactly seven Ks in all three starts.

His 30.9% K rate ranks in the 84th percentile.

I’m not blown away by Bradley’s pitch metrics, but I am inclined to back him in a plus matchup against the free-swinging New York Yankees.

The Yankees have the sixth-highest K rate (24.6%) and the third-highest whiff rate (28.3%) in MLB.

Bradley struck out seven over 6.0 innings when he faced the Yankees at home a season ago.

Witt over 0.5 runs (+100): Witt is really, really good. Let’s start there.

Last year’s AL MVP runner-up ranks in the 99th percentile in xBA (.349) and 95th percentile in xwOBA (.423).

So far this season, Witt is batting .310 and currently owns a nine-game hit streak. He has also scored in eight of his past 13 games.

What really pushes this pick over the line for me is Witt’s history against Detroit Tigers starter Reese Olson:

6-for-11 (.545)
4 extra-base hits (2 HRs)
.926 xSLG
99.5 mph average exit velocity

MLB prop picks made at 11:31 a.m. ET on 04/17/2025.

IPL betting odds and cricket schedule April 18-19: Capitals look to keep top spot in battle vs. Titans

Each of the top four Indian Premier League teams is in action this weekend — against each other — making for some truly compelling matches.

The Delhi Capitals are the only five-win team so far, but they’re still positioned as underdogs against the Gujarat Titans on Saturday morning. The Punjab Kings, looking to match their 2024 win total, are also road underdogs.

Check out our IPL cricket odds for the trio of matchups on April 18-19.

IPL cricket odds

Bet now on the IPL

Rajasthan Royals (-112) vs. Lucknow Super Giants (-112)
Date: April 19 at 10 a.m.

The Royals finished on the wrong end of a super over against the Delhi Capitals last time out, which extended their losing skid to three games.

Adding injury to insult, Rajasthan lost batsman Sanju Samson during the match due to a rib injury. Samson told reporters after the fact that “it feels alright now,” which suggests he at least has a chance to face Lucknow.

Samson figures to be a crucial player in this match after scoring an unbeaten 82 against the Super Giants in last year’s season opener.

That’s the last time these squads met, and the result was a 20-run victory for Rajasthan.

Gujarat Titans (-137) vs. Delhi Capitals (+110)
Date: April 19 at 6 a.m.

This is the most anticipated match of the weekend, with two top-of-the-table clubs squaring off at Gujarat’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

Last April, Delhi earned a dominant, six-wicket victory over Gujarat and held the Titans to just 89 runs. That marked the Titans’ lowest-ever total in IPL play.

Despite that convincing win, and the fact that the Capitals (5-1) are alone atop the IPL standings, the Titans are still the favourite on home soil.

Sai Sudharsan, who’s second in the IPL in total runs (329), is a player to watch. Last year, the young all-rounder for Gujarat became the fastest Indian to reach 1,000 IPL runs (25 innings).

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (-143) vs. Punjab Kings (+115)
Date: April 18 at 10 a.m.

Clawing for a place among the IPL’s elite, either the Challengers or the Kings will improve to 5-2 on Friday.

A 5-2 record could mean a tie for the top spot on the table at the midpoint of the season. And keep in mind that Punjab only won five games in 2024 as a whole.

The Kings are road underdogs on Friday, though, which makes sense when you look at how last year’s tilt played out.

Bengaluru, led by Virat Kohli, chased down Punjab’s 176 runs to win by four wickets. Kohli tallied 77 runs in that match and is second in the IPL in scoring this season (62.0 runs/match).

IPL cricket odds as of 11:25 a.m. on 04/17/25.

NBA playoff parlay picks April 19: Bet on Pistons to score in bunches, Lakers to beat Timberwolves

The first round of the NBA playoffs begin on Saturday, and I’ve built a +329 parlay that covers most of the action.

The pregame narrative: It’s been a while since the Los Angeles Clippers have faced the Denver Nuggets, and I think the Clips are positioned well to have a strong result in the series opener. I’m also taking the over on the Detroit Pistons’ team total and am backing the Los Angeles Lakers to win.

Check out the full NBA parlay picks for postseason action on April 19.

NBA parlay picks

Parlay: Pistons over 106.5 points | Clippers +5.5 | Lakers ML (+330)

Pistons over 106.5 points (-125): The Pistons’ epic turnaround this season started at the top of the roster, with Cade Cunningham rounding into all-star form.

Cunningham posted career-highs in points per game (26.1) and effective field goal percentage (52.1%) this year.

He’s cruising right now, too, with 25-plus points in 12 of 14 games since March 3 — averaging 29.8 PPG in that span.

It’s obviously helpful having a certified bucket-getter when you want to bet the over on a team total. And this is a total Cunningham and the Pistons are accustomed to clearing.

Detroit averaged 115.5 points in the regular season, clearing a 106.5-point total in 62 of 82 games (75.6%).
The Pistons have scored 115+ points in three straight against the Knicks, including their most recent matchup on April 10.

New York is known to play hard with a short bench, but the defence hasn’t been elite this season. The Knicks, who’ve allowed 111.7 PPG, rank 13th in defensive rating.

Other picks

Clippers +5.5 (-182): The Clippers and Nuggets split their season series, 2-2, but they haven’t seen each other since early January. And Kawhi Leonard didn’t play in any of those games.

Leonard has kicked into overdrive recently, helping the Clippers to a 15-4 record in games he’s played since the start of March.

In that span, the Klaw has averaged 25.7 points (with 42.9% 3-point shooting), 7.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He’s going to be a problem.

L.A. enters this matchup in much better form, going 15-2 SU (13-4 ATS) in its past 17 games. Denver, meanwhile, is 7-15 ATS since the start of March.

I’d rather bank points with the team playing much better basketball lately (and one that didn’t just hand its head coach a pink slip).

Lakers moneyline (-182): After leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals a season ago, Luka Doncic embarks on a new postseason journey with his new team. And all I’m looking for is a win.

Doncic’s Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Feb. 27, jumping out to a 33-17 lead in the first quarter and never relinquishing it.

L.A. is 31-10 at home this season, including a 25-7 mark as the favourite, per Team Rankings.

Minnesota went 7-7 SU as a road underdog this season, which is actually a very impressive record. But against a Lakers team with both of its megastars healthy, I expect the Timberwolves to come up short.

Picks made at 8:20 a.m. on 04/17/2025.

NBA playoff parlay picks April 19: Bet on Pistons to score in bunches, Lakers to beat Timberwolves

The first round of the NBA playoffs begin on Saturday, and I’ve built a +329 parlay that covers most of the action.

The pregame narrative: It’s been a while since the Los Angeles Clippers have faced the Denver Nuggets, and I think the Clips are positioned well to have a strong result in the series opener. I’m also taking the over on the Detroit Pistons’ team total and am backing the Los Angeles Lakers to win.

Check out the full NBA parlay picks for postseason action on April 19.

NBA parlay picks

Parlay: Pistons over 106.5 points | Clippers +5.5 | Lakers ML (+329)

Embed: #112599

Pistons over 106.5 points (-114): The Pistons’ epic turnaround this season started at the top of the roster, with Cade Cunningham rounding into all-star form.

Cunningham posted career-highs in points per game (26.1) and effective field goal percentage (52.1%) this year.

He’s cruising right now, too, with 25-plus points in 12 of 14 games since March 3 — averaging 29.8 PPG in that span.

It’s obviously helpful having a certified bucket-getter when you want to bet the over on a team total. And this is a total Cunningham and the Pistons are accustomed to clearing.

Detroit averaged 115.5 points in the regular season, clearing a 106.5-point total in 62 of 82 games (75.6%).
The Pistons have scored 115+ points in three straight against the Knicks, including their most recent matchup on April 10.

New York is known to play hard with a short bench, but the defence hasn’t been elite this season. The Knicks, who’ve allowed 111.7 PPG, rank 13th in defensive rating.

Other picks

Clippers +5.5 (-200): The Clippers and Nuggets split their season series, 2-2, but they haven’t seen each other since early January. And Kawhi Leonard didn’t play in any of those games.

Leonard has kicked into overdrive recently, helping the Clippers to a 15-4 record in games he’s played since the start of March.

In that span, the Klaw has averaged 25.7 points (with 42.9% 3-point shooting), 7.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He’s going to be a problem.

L.A. enters this matchup in much better form, going 15-2 SU (13-4 ATS) in its past 17 games. Denver, meanwhile, is 7-15 ATS since the start of March.

I’d rather bank points with the team playing much better basketball lately (and one that didn’t just hand its head coach a pink slip).

Lakers moneyline (-195): After leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals a season ago, Luka Doncic embarks on a new postseason journey with his new team. And all I’m looking for is a win.

Doncic’s Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Feb. 27, jumping out to a 33-17 lead in the first quarter and never relinquishing it.

L.A. is 31-10 at home this season, including a 25-7 mark as the favourite, per Team Rankings.

Minnesota went 7-7 SU as a road underdog this season, which is actually a very impressive record. But against a Lakers team with both of its megastars healthy, I expect the Timberwolves to come up short.

Picks made at 4:03 p.m. on 04/16/2025.

Mavericks vs. Kings play-in SGP predictions April 16: Look for LaVine to stay hot, fade Lively

The Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks fight to keep their seasons alive on Wednesday night in the Western Conference’s 9-vs-10 matchup of the NBA play-in tournament.

The pregame narrative: Dallas has been injury-riddled for most of the past few weeks, and I’d rather not mess around with picking a side tonight. Instead, this +310 SGP has milestone prop bets for Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Dereck Lively.

Check out my Mavericks vs. Kings SGP predictions for April 16.

Mavericks vs. Kings predictions

Parlay: Sabonis 6+ assists | LaVine 3+ threes | Lively under 5.5 rebounds (+310)

Embed: #112585

Sabonis 6+ assists (-175): The best passing big man in the NBA is Nikola Jokic, but Sabonis isn’t that far off.

And for a guy who averages 6.0 assists on the season, this is a mark I expect Sabonis to hit based on the matchup.

Dallas allows the seventh-most assists per game to opposing centres, per Betting Pros.

Sabonis has 7+ assists vs. Dallas in four straight matchups (since March 2024).

This season, Sabonis has 6+ assists in 39 of 70 games (55.7%).

With De’Aaron Fox traded away and Malik Monk ruled out, Sabonis is the clear-cut No. 1 option to facilitate offence for the Kings.

NBA SGP legs

LaVine 3+ threes (-182): If Sabonis is doing his job as a passer, LaVine will hopefully be on the receiving end of some good looks.

And he deserves them.

LaVine is on fire from 3-point range over his past 10 games:

51.9 3PT%
4.0 makes
7.7 attempts
3+ threes in six straight

The Mavericks tend not to allow a ton of 3-point attempts, but who am I to fly in the face of this hot streak?

Even if the volume isn’t always high, Dallas does allow the 12th-highest opponent 3PT% in the NBA (36.3). LaVine went 4-for-5 from deep against the Mavs when he last faced them on March 3.

Lively under 5.5 rebounds (-150): Lively missed 36 games this season with an ankle injury, and his production since returning at the start of this month hasn’t been very encouraging.

The second-year centre has gone under 5.5 rebounds in three of four games. He played fewer than 20 minutes in each of those matchups.

At 7-foot-1, Lively will be the tallest player on the court tonight. But his minutes seem to be capped, and he’s competing against a pair of truly elite rebounders (Sabonis, Anthony Davis).

Lively ranks 17th in offensive rebounding rate (12.2%), but the Kings have the second-highest defensive rebounding rate in the NBA.

Mavericks vs. Kings predictions made at 11:24 a.m. ET 04/16/2025.

Braves vs. Blue Jays prop picks April 16: Bet on Austin Riley to rake in Wednesday’s matinee

Spencer Strider makes his 2025 season debut Wednesday afternoon in a rubber match between the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays.

The pregame narrative: You never know what you’ll get out of a pitcher coming off an extended injury absence, but Strider has shown plenty of positives in his rehab outings. I’m eyeing a pair of hitter prop bets, though, backing Austin Riley and fading Alejandro Kirk.

Check out my Blue Jays picks vs. Braves for April 16.

Blue Jays picks vs. Braves

Best Bet: Riley over 1.5 bases (+105)

Riley is on a heater, and this is a solid price to back him at.

The third baseman is 4-for-8 at Rogers Centre in this series, and three of those hits left the yard.

He’s now riding an eight-game hitting streak, featuring some truly gaudy numbers:

16-for-35 (.457)
1.358 OPS
7 extra-base hits
2+ bases in 7 of 8

Riley is 3-for-11 with a homer against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt, which equates to a .545 SLG. His contact quality has clearly been good in this matchup, as Baseball Savant grades him at a .600 xSLG.

Key stat: Riley ranks in the 92nd percentile or better in xSLG (.593), average exit velocity (93.8 mph) and barrel rate (22.9%).

Quick pick

Kirk under 0.5 hits (+140): Kirk might not contribute much to Strider’s strikeout total, but I think he has a fair chance of going hitless on Wednesday.

Kirk ranks in the 37th percentile in xBA (.233) and in the 25th percentile in xSLG (.331). He’s been hitless in six of 13 starts.

As a right-hitting player, Kirk will have Strider’s elite slider running away from him. In 2023, that slider generated a 55.3% whiff rate (third among all pitches that year).

Strider has held righties to a .188 BA in his career.

Braves vs. Blue Jays picks made at 10:13 a.m. ET on 04/16/2025.

Braves vs. Blue Jays prop picks April 16: Bet on Spencer Strider to dominate in 2025 season debut

Spencer Strider makes his 2025 season debut Wednesday afternoon in a rubber match between the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays.

The pregame narrative: You never know what you’ll get out of a pitcher coming off an extended injury absence, but Strider has shown plenty of positives in his rehab outings. I’m backing the right-hander to cash a plus-money strikeout prop, and I also have picks on Austin Riley and Alejandro Kirk.

Check out my Blue Jays picks vs. Braves for April 16.

Blue Jays picks vs. Braves

Best Bet: Strider over 6.5 strikeouts (+133)

Embed: #112580

It’s exciting to have Strider back in the majors, and I expect him to remind everybody just how good he is.

Strider’s last MLB outing came just over a year ago, after which he had season-ending elbow surgery before a long climb back to the Braves.

But unlike a hitter who may need time to adjust to big-league pitching again, I think Strider can get right back to top form on the mound. His stuff plays anywhere.

Strider’s fastball velocity is still a couple of ticks behind its top form, currently sitting at 95.7 mph after three outings with Triple-A Gwinnett. But it still averaged two additional inches of induced vertical break (i.e., rise) compared to the average MLB starter’s fastball, according to MLB.com’s David Adler.

After being essentially a two-pitch starter in his first two full seasons, Strider heightened his deployment of two additional offerings (changeup, curveball) during his rehab assignment.

With Gwinnett, Strider’s changeup had 32 inches of vertical drop — five more than he’d ever averaged in the majors. And his curveball had 12 inches of vertical drop, which was three more than he’d averaged in 2024.

Enough about pitch shapes, though. How has it all been working out for Strider?

I’d say the minor-league outings speak for themselves:

March 29: 3.0 IP, 6 Ks, 1 R
April 4: 5.1 IP, 8 Ks, 0 R
April 10: 5.1 IP, 13 Ks, 1 R

In his final start, Strider stretched out to 90 pitches and fanned 13 of 21 batters.

He’ll obviously face a tougher lineup on Wednesday, but he’s built up nicely and is accustomed to clearing this strikeout total at the MLB level.

In 2023 — his most recent full season — Strider went over 6.5 Ks in 27 of 32 outings.

Key stat: Strider’s 483 strikeouts from 2022-23 were the most among any MLB pitcher in that span.

Quick picks

Riley over 1.5 bases (+123): Riley is on a heater, and this is a solid price to back him at.

The third baseman is 4-for-8 at Rogers Centre in this series, and three of those hits left the yard.

He’s now riding an eight-game hitting streak, featuring some truly gaudy numbers:

16-for-35 (.457)
1.358 OPS
7 extra-base hits
2+ bases in 7 of 8

Riley is 3-for-11 with a homer against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt, which equates to a .545 SLG. His contact quality has clearly been good in this matchup, as Baseball Savant grades him at a .600 xSLG.

Kirk under 0.5 hits (+140): Kirk might not contribute much to Strider’s strikeout total, but I think he has a fair chance of going hitless on Wednesday.

Kirk ranks in the 37th percentile in xBA (.233) and in the 25th percentile in xSLG (.331). He’s been hitless in six of 13 starts.

As a right-hitting player, Kirk will have Strider’s elite slider running away from him. In 2023, that slider generated a 55.3% whiff rate (third among all pitches that year).

Strider has held righties to a .188 BA in his career.

Braves vs. Blue Jays picks made at 9:23 a.m. ET on 04/16/2025.

Best NBA play-in prop bets April 15: Bet on Banchero, Edey to show up in postseason play

Get set for Tuesday’s NBA play-in tournament doubleheader with a trio of prop bets.

The pregame narrative: In the late game, I like Zach Edey to stay dominant as a rebounder the way he has the past two weeks. In the earlier matchup, fade Trae Young and look for a big night from Paolo Banchero.

Check out the best NBA prop bets for the play-in tournament matchups on April 15.

NBA prop bets

Best Bet: Young under 10.5 assists (-138)

Fading the NBA assists leader in a playoff-calibre game? Sure, let’s give it a go.

Young averaged 11.6 assists per game this season, which makes the under on this total look like the wrong move. But the context of Tuesday’s matchup means a great deal to me.

The Orlando Magic love nothing more than to play a slow, grind-it-out game where physicality and defensive responsibility trump inflated box scores and offensive pizzazz.

Orlando plays at the slowest pace in the NBA (96.51 possessions/game) and owns the second-best defensive rating (109.1 points/100 possessions).

Fewer possessions means fewer assist opportunities. And the defensive rating tells us that those possessions tend not to come easy.

Young finished with 10 assists when he faced the Magic last week, but he’s gone under the 9.5-assist mark in 4 of 6 games since the start of last season.

The under on this prop is 3-1 in Young’s road matchups against Orlando.

I know Young averaged an NBA-best 20.7 potential assists this year, and thus would need only half the shots to drop on an average night for this bet to flop.

But I’m buying in on the Magic upholding its stylistic reputation at home in a meaningful game.

Key stat: Orlando allows the fewest assists per game to its opponents (22.8).

Best NBA picks

Banchero over 30.5 points (-112): Banchero is the Magic’s offence. That statement is only slightly hyperbolic.

His 33.0% usage rate ranks fourth in the NBA, behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Banchero has attempted 20+ shots in 29 of 46 games this season.

The No. 1 overall pick from 2022 is known for his volume-based production rather than his efficiency. But that’s fine with me if the bet cashes.

Banchero has hit the 30-point milestone in nine of his past 14 games while shooting 47.6% from the field on 22.1 shot attempts.

He has also cashed this bet in four of his past five games against Atlanta (since January 2024).

Edey over 10.5 rebounds (-125): Will the Grizzlies go small to match the Warriors or try to use their size mismatch as an advantage? I’m hoping it’s the former.

Edey, at 7-foot-4, is playing some inspired basketball around the rim this month. He’s averaging 15.7 rebounds in six games.

That includes a 16-rebound performance against Golden State on April 1. No matter who the Warriors throw at him down low, Edey is bigger and will have a chance to dominate.

The Warriors allow the third-most rebounds per game to opposing centres (16.29), per Betting Pros.

NBA prop picks made at 4:00 p.m. ET on 04/14/2025.