Heavyweight NL matchup, battle of division hopefuls highlight 5 series to watch

The calendar will flip from April to May this week and the 2026 season has already brought many fascinating developments.

Some of those developments will be on display this week, with a heavyweight National League matchup, a pair of interesting interdivision games and more.

Here are five series to watch this week.

Cubs at Padres: 3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: Of course, these two teams met in last year’s NL Wild Card Series, which went to the Cubs in three games. The Cubs won the first game, the Padres won the second game and Chicago clinched the series with a Game 3 win at Wrigley Field. The two clubs also had a very tight regular-season series in 2025, as they split the six games and each scored 25 runs apiece.

Storyline: Two of the top teams in the Majors will be facing off in what should be a fascinating early test for both squads. The Padres are 18-9 and a half-game behind the Dodgers in the NL West, while the Cubs are 17-11 and a game behind the Reds in a competitive NL Central division. As mentioned before, it’s also a repeat of last year’s Wild Card Series, which only adds further intrigue.

Watch out for: Seiya Suzuki enters the series as hot as any hitter in baseball. After enduring a slow start to his season, which began on the injured list due to a knee sprain, Suzuki has been red hot of late, recording multiple hits and a home run in four of his last six games. We’d also be remiss to not keep an eye on the dominant Mason Miller, who set a Padres record with 34 1/3 straight scoreless innings and has been striking out batters at a historic clip.

Rays at Guardians: 3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: Cleveland took five of seven games from Tampa Bay in 2025, but the Guardians only outscored the Rays 21-20.

Storyline: Can the Rays continue their hot start to the season? While much of the preseason discussion in the AL East centered around the other four teams in the division, the Rays are showing that they’re a competitive club at 16-11 and just 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees. With the Red Sox and Blue Jays struggling in the division, the Rays could be a legitimate playoff threat.

Watch out for: Yandy Díaz has been one of baseball’s best hitters, ranking in the top five among qualified batters in average (.337) and on-base percentage (.425). This is not necessarily new for him, as Díaz has consistently been one of baseball’s better hitters for a half-decade, but he hasn’t performed at this level since 2023, a year that the Rays won 99 games.

Tigers at Braves: 3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)

Head-to-head: The Braves thoroughly dominated last year’s three-game set in Atlanta in September, sweeping the three games and outscoring the Tigers 22-8.

Storyline: Tarik Skubal will toe the rubber on Wednesday in a matchup against baseball’s highest-scoring offense (166 runs) in the Braves. The Tigers’ ace has a good argument for baseball’s top pitcher (Paul Skenes certainly has a case, too) and will have to navigate a Braves lineup that has received excellent production from many players.

Watch out for: There are about a half-dozen Braves hitters that warrant a mention, whether that’s Matt Olson (.983 OPS), Michael Harris II (.919 OPS) or Drake Baldwin (.909 OPS). On the other side, Kevin McGonigle (MLB Pipeline's No. 2 prospect) has hit the ground running in his debut season, as he enters the week with a .330/.423/.528 slash line and 1.5 WAR (per FanGraphs), a top 10 mark among position players.

Reds at Pirates: 3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The Pirates won a three-game series this year from March 30-April 1 in Cincinnati, winning two of the games and outscoring the Reds 16-8.

Storyline: The Reds are first place in the NL Central with an 18-10 record. The Pirates are two games behind them at 16-12 and hold the third NL Wild Card spot. This could very well be the first time that both of these NL Central clubs are competitive in the same year for the first time since 2013, when Pittsburgh and Cincinnati won the two NL Wild Card spots. The Pirates rather memorably won the NL Wild Card game that year against the Reds at a raucous PNC Park.

Watch out for: Sal Stewart hasn't just been one of the most productive rookies so far -- he's been one of the best players, period. Entering the week, Stewart is running a .291/.385/.602 slash line with nine home runs and a MLB-leading 29 RBIs. His 1.2 fWAR is second among Reds players behind Elly De La Cruz's 1.4 mark and is a top 20 figure among all position players.

Orioles at Yankees: 4 games (Thursday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The Yankees had astounding success against the Orioles in 2025, winning nine of 13 games and scoring a whopping 77 runs, while Baltimore scored just 32 runs.

Storyline: Can the Orioles reverse their fortunes against the Yankees? As seen above, the Yankees were an absolute nightmare for the Orioles last season. The Orioles are a much-improved club this season, however, and have a chance to make up some serious ground in the AL East. At 18-10, the Yankees have a five-game lead over the 13-15 Orioles.

Watch out for: Ben Rice has been the best hitter in baseball outside of Houston's Yordan Alvarez. The Yankees' slugging lefty is second among qualified hitters (behind Alvarez) with a 1.183 OPS, .450 on-base percentage and a .733 slugging percentage. Rice has turned into one of the best hitters in baseball and has formed an epic 1-2 punch with Aaron Judge.