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It’s Friday which means most of the work world’s focus will be shifting to a weekend mode here in just a few hours. With the weekend approaching typically the sportsbooks in Las Vegas will see a rise in game action. That begins today on Friday as there is a scattered board of games in MLB, hockey, and of course the NBA playoffs.

Money moves on favorites draw the most attention from bettors. If markets were that easy everyone would be 60% and above at handicapping and make this market as easy as the stock market the last four years. Of course that’s not the case. Value is the only way you’re going to truly make a profit in sports handicapping.

Today key line moves have seen odds shift in the Twins/Indians(Twins side), Rangers/Rays (Rangers side), Reds/White Sox (White Sox side)and Mets/Phillies (Mets side).

Today is a big board here at notjustagame.com. I have four plays available for purchase at . All plays were sent out last night at 19:00 PT. On the board are three MLB plays and one NBA playoff play. It’s never too late to get on board. Of course once game time hits than it’s on to the next possible day for a prospective client.

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Don’t look now but the Philadelphia Phillies have had three impressive wins as of late. Sunday they staged a come from behind rally against the Dodgers thanks to a two-error ninth inning by Hanley Ramirez to win 3-2. Now in consecutive nights the Phillies have pulled off near improbable 9th inning rallies against the Colorado Rockies. Raphael Betancourt blew both save opportunities. It’s an impressive feat by the Phillies but it does not take away from their atrocious lineup and stale 1-2-3 innings half the game. If it were not for Carlos Ruiz and Darin Ruf they’d be stuck in the mud during this stretch. Friday is a favorable pitching matchup with Wade Miley against Cole Hamels. Hamels is coming off a very strong outing against the LA Dodgers, that was a non-decision. The key stat for Hamels is that he has only allowed more than two runs in one start since July 4th. Wade Miley will re-cool the hot bats of the Phillies, and even with a few runs given up by either bullpen I believe this total will stay under the 7.5 by a good run or two.

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On the mound for an early start at 2:10 PM EST will be the Detroit Tigers- Rick Porcello against John Danks and the White Sox. The White Sox have stymied the Tigers in the first two games of the series, and Porcello will certainly be called upon to deliver once again for the Tigers. Porcello has had three starts against the Tigers in nearly a month, getting two wins and a non-decision on August 4th. Look for the series to continue to be a tight run scoring affair. Porcello’s three starts against the White Sox he has only given up a total of four runs. That’s a number I like, and for Detroit to continue to struggle to get a high amount of runs. Look for a 5-2, or 6-2 finish, going under the nine run set line.

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Of Justin Verlander’s last ten starts he has had four losses, and three non-decisions. In his losses he has given up five runs or more every time. For his career of 33 starts against Cleveland his ERA is at 4.65. If I were to have given you a random multiple choice question with three different ERA’s, I’d guess the percentage that would of guessed in the high four range would have been under fifteen percent. Cleveland has Verlander’s number and as a team they’ve been performing well under the radar. They’re just four games back of Detroit currently. I like them to bounce back from yesterday’s loss to Detroit and get you a solid payout at -107.

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Delving into Friday’s major league baseball action features three picks available. Today’s free play is focused on the total in the Cleveland Indians vs Miami Marlins. Ubaldo Jimenez has quelled the storm after starting the year rocky in Cleveland. He had a decent July, and is coming off two rock solid performances. One in Seattle where he allowed two home runs on five hits, and an eight inning gem in his last outing in which he gave up just two hits and zero runs. Cleveland’s travel could be a bit of a concern as they did play at Seattle a few series ago, and now they are in Miami. I don’t believe a veteran pitcher like Jimenez will have issues in that department.

Miami has put together some impressive wins over the last couple of weeks since the All-Star break. They’ve been producing runs when runners are in scoring position. Yesterday against Matt Harvey they scored just three runs, but those were timely runs when they had opportunities with runners on base. Jimenez is the type of pitcher that can clamp down against a lineup as the Marlins. He’ll get out of jams.

Home starting pitcher, Jose Fernandez, has not given up more than three runs dating back to June 1st. If Jimenez can control his walks and pitch through six innings, this should be an easy under.

Take the under of seven runs as Friday’s free play.

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It’s been four days since the last action was seen in major league baseball. Be sure to take a look at today’s premium play between Tampa Bay and Toronto. For a total to score a win on, I focus on the Nationals and Dodgers total. Ricky Nolasco is heading to the mound for his third outing. He had a great start against the Diamondbacks but got down with three early runs in his last start against Colorado. Stephen Strasburg had an even rougher outing in his last start giving up the most runs he has ever allowed of seven in just two innings. Even though the Dodgers have struggled to score runs, I expect them to continue to pelt the balls Strasburg pitches today.

The total runs today of 7.5 is a generous number considering the woes of Strasburg. Let the questions raise about his arm, as the Nationals ponder if he needs rest again