8* play on St. Louis Cardinals.

The St. Louis Cardinals opened the season with three straight losses on the road at Pittsburgh, but they picked up their first win of the season in Game 1 of this series in Atlanta. The Braves are one of the worst teams in the Majors, and they are likely to continue to struggle here in Game 2. My money is on the Cardinals.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - Carlos Martinez will get the nod for the visitors, and he tossed six strong innings, surrendering just a single run in his final start this Spring. Martinez was 8-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 15 starts on the road last year, and he was brilliant, tossing a shutout in his only start versus Atlanta. The Braves send their ace to the mound, but as well as he pitched on Opening Day, it wasn't good enough to pick up a win.

2. Atlanta's Bats - The Braves rank dead last in the majors batting .181 after three games. Now if you think that's a small sample size, we should point out that they ranked at the bottom of the majors in runs scored for the entire 2015 season.

3. X-Factor - The Cardinals are 22-7 in Martinez's last 29 starts.

Selection: This is a play on the St. Louis Cardinals (8*)