Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
6* Marlins / Giants Over 7
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on the "over"
Ricky Nolasco gets the nod for the visitors; Nolasco has been up and down of late; he's 10-7 on the year with a 4.50 ERA.
Very important to point out that Florida has seen the total go "over" the number in 32 of 48 games after a victory (big 5-4 win over Atlanta yesterday).
In the other dugout: Barry Zito heads to the hill for the home side; Zito has been sharp of late, but is coming off a loss; he struggled into the break but has been better in his last couple outings; he's 8-5 on the year with a 3.45 ERA.
Keep in mind though that San Francisco has seen the total go "over" the number in 8 of 13 games this year after three or more consecutive victories (swept Arizona in four game series).
Bottom line: San Francisco has scored a major league-high 122 runs in July, helping it take over the wild-card lead - 1 1/2 games ahead of Cincinnati; Florida won two of three against first-place Atlanta over the weekend and has made up 2 1/2 games in the standings by winning seven of nine overall.
When taking all of the above info into account, I believe this number is just a little low;