A big AL East test? An NL postseason preview? That and more in Series to Watch this week

Getting your schedule sorted for the week ahead? Good news -- there's a lot of great baseball to look forward to in the coming days, and we've got a lot to say about it.

The week of May 4 will feature the first meeting between the reigning American League champions and an unexpectedly hot division rival, a very early battle for first place in the NL Central and an old NLCS rematch (or maybe a preview?)

Blue Jays at Rays
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: The Blue Jays last won a season series against the Rays all the way back in 2017, and the Rays took seven of 13 in 2025. And although few teams consistently play well at the Trop, even last year's change of scenery didn't do much for the Blue Jays -- they went 2-5 at George M. Steinbrenner Field, too.

Storyline: The AL East has already split itself into two tiers, with 5 1/2 games separating the second-place Rays (21-12) and the third-place Blue Jays (16-18). The defending AL champs have definitely played better of late, but they dug themselves quite the hole early, and this is a great opportunity for them to get back in the conversation with New York and Tampa Bay.

Watch out for: We called it an opportunity for the Blue Jays. We didn't say it'd be easy to convert. The Rays have three tough arms lined up for this series (Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan), but if you can only catch one, make it McClanahan -- not just because he's back after two lost years, but also because he's looking much more like himself lately, coming off two straight scoreless outings.

Reds at Cubs
4 games (Monday-Thursday)

Head-to-head: Although the Cubs have generally been better of late, the Reds have actually won four of the last five season series between the division rivals (including 2025, when they went 8-5.)

Storyline: The NL Central race is already underway, and don't expect it to cool down anytime soon, because everyone's in. That said, the Cardinals, Cubs and Reds have pulled ahead early, and now two of them are finally getting a look at each other. The Reds, who've cooled off just a little of late, could climb back into first place with a series win, but they'll have their work cut out for them -- the Cubs, riding a five-game win streak, have also won 11 straight at Wrigley.

Watch out for: The Cubs have been hit hard with pitching injuries and a few prominent hitters, among them Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman, haven't really gotten going yet, so why is this club rolling? Well, for one, Seiya Suzuki, who began the regular season sidelined with a right knee sprain, came off the IL raking. As of Monday morning, Suzuki is hitting .308/.402/.526 with five home runs in 21 games. Not at all a coincidence that the Cubs, who went 6-6 to start the season, are 16-6 (3rd in MLB) since getting him back on April 10.

Athletics at Phillies
3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)

Head-to-head: The Phillies won their sole matchup in 2025, two games to one; they're 8-4 against the A's since 2022.

Storyline: This isn't quite the narrative we would have predicted for this series, but life comes at you fast in this business. The A's are in first place in an AL West that is practically begging for its first serious reshuffle of the year. The Phillies, meanwhile, are doing a nice job picking up the pieces after a very early managerial change -- they're now 5-1 under Don Mattingly -- which is certainly something they'd like to build on.

Watch out for: A's catcher Shea Langeliers is off to one of the best offensive starts in all of baseball. He's also a brand new dad, so he could miss time at least early in the series. But no worries, because the A's also have reigning AL Player of the Week Carlos Cortes on board, and get a load of this -- since April 20, he's 19-for-38 (.500 AVG) with three home runs and more runs batted in (7) than strikeouts (5).

Yankees at Brewers
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The Brewers and Yankees last saw each other over Opening Weekend in 2025, a series you may better remember for triggering the fleeting obsession with figuring out what torpedo bats were and whether they were legal. (They were, and the Yankees swept that series, outscoring the Brewers 36-14 in the process.)

Storyline: Things got a little tense the last time these two met, but we don't exactly expect that to carry over into 2026. But the Brewers and Yankees do bring with them some of the best pitching in baseball (the Yankees lead MLB with a 3.01 team ERA; the Brewers are fourth at 3.56). Their offensive output, on the other hand, could not be more different, with New York's team SLG (.450, 2nd in MLB) outpacing Milwaukee's (.354, 28th) by almost 100 points. It'll be a tricky one to navigate for the Brewers, but they're more than capable of shutting down a robust lineup -- so who knows where this series will take us.

Watch out for: The Yankees are having themselves a home run race, but there's just something about one that pits Aaron Judge (three-time MVP, reigning AL batting champ, literal superstar) against Ben Rice (former 12th-rounder, only briefly a ranked prospect, seriously, where did this guy come from?). To make things more interesting, Rice is having the better year, currently leading all qualifying hitters with a 1.214 OPS. After both homered again on Sunday against the Orioles, Judge is tied for the Major League lead with 13 home runs; Rice is just behind, tied for third, with 12.

Braves at Dodgers
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The Dodgers won the 2025 season series, five games to one; these two have also seen an awful lot of each other in postseason play, with four head-to-head series since 2013, the most recent being the 2021 NLCS.

Storyline: Yes, these are two of the top teams in Major League Baseball, but the Braves, who had an unexpected nightmare of a 2025 season, are the ones really cruising. The best team in baseball by record (25-10, .714 winning percentage), they've already built up an 8 1/2 game lead in the NL East -- larger than the lead the Dodgers (21-13) have over the last-place Giants (eight games back) in the NL West. The Dodgers have been excellent at home (12-6), but the Braves have been even better on the road (13-4); the latter is clearly gunning for the former, and the Dodgers already came into the season with targets on their backs. This should be a fun one, and possibly a postseason preview to boot.

Watch out for: Welcome back, Matt Olson. A couple of 29-HR seasons followed his record-setting 54-HR campaign in 2023, but with 11 through 35 games, he's back on pace for 50 in 2026. Entering play on Monday, Atlanta's iron man first baseman is also hitting .385 over his last ten games dating back to April 23. (He's not the only Atlanta Brave on a tear, either; keep an eye out for Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, too.)