1* Free Play OVER Giants/Pirates.

A couple of guys who have seen much better days square off on Thursday night and suffice it to say, when the smoke clears at the end of this one, we're expecting the total to eclipse the posted number. The visitors hand the ball to Jake Peavy (3-5, 4.18 ERA), who earned a victory despite throwing poorly in his last start, giving up five runs off nine hits over 5 2/3's innings vs. the Nationals on Saturday. Peavy had looked pretty decent for a while, but the sub-par effort was his worst of the season and unfortunately for the veteran, a date on the road is not what the doctor ordered to get untracked as he's just 1-3 with a ballooned 4.23 ERA away from friendly confines thus far. The home side counters with Charlie Morton (7-4, 4.36 ERA) who comes in after giving up two runs off four hits over 6 1/3's innings in a no-decision vs. the Mets on Saturday. Note that Morton has struggled with consistency from game to game and owns a pedestrian 4.10 ERA in all "night" contests this year. With these two sometimes volatile starters squaring off, there's no question that the OVER does indeed become a legitimate investment opportunity in this matchup.

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