8* SURE SHOT on St. Louis Cardinals.

After struggling at the plate in Pittsburgh, the Cardinals bats exploded in a three game sweep of the Braves in Atlanta. They scored a total of 31 runs in the series, and they will hope to carry that momentum into Game 1 of a home series versus Milwaukee. I'll take the hot team... my money is on the Cardinals.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - Taylor Jungmann will get the nod for the visitors, and he had himself a pretty impressive rookie campaign. Most of his success came at home though, as he was just 4-6 with a 5.02 ERA in a dozen starts on the road in 2015. The Cardinals will counter with Michael Wacha, who was 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 13 home starts last season.

2. Matt Carpenter - The Cardinals thirdbaseman is heating up. He hit a three run home run in Game 3 in Atlanta, and he hit .329 with five home runs and 13 RBIs against the Brewers last year.

3. X-Factor - The Cardinals rarely lose at Busch Stadium, going 81-34 in their last 115 home games. They have won 40 of their last 58 versus Milwaukee.

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