It was a thrilling Opening weekend across baseball, but the fun is just getting started.
In the first full week of the 2026 season, there are several heavyweight matchups, including a battle between two of the top teams in the American League and a pair of other series on the West Coast that will be sure to grab our attention.
Here are five series to watch this week.
Yankees at Mariners: 3 games (Monday-Wednesday)
Head-to-head: The Yanks thoroughly dominated the 2025 series, winning five of six games against Seattle and outscoring the Mariners 40 to 23. The Yankees also took the 2024 series, winning four of seven games.
Storyline: It’s Aaron Judge vs. Cal Raleigh, a matchup between the two stars who battled for the 2025 AL MVP, which narrowly went to Judge to give the Yankees’ captain his third career MVP. The two superstars also spent time as teammates this year for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, which saw the US lose to Venezuela in the finals. Judge is already off to a strong start in 2026, homering in each of his last two games.
Watch out for: Judge and Raleigh might be the two biggest stars in this series, but they’re hardly alone. Julio Rodríguez is a perennial MVP candidate with his elite defense and power-speed blend. Add in Josh Naylor, Randy Arozarena and Brendan Donovan and the M’s could have one of the best offenses in baseball. The Yanks, meanwhile, were baseball’s best offense last season and largely returned the same lineup.
Guardians at Dodgers: 3 games (Monday-Wednesday)
Head-to-head: The Dodgers took the series in Cleveland last year, winning two of three games in late May. Los Angeles also won the 2024 series at Chavez Ravine.
Storyline: The Dodgers are looking to become the first team since the 1998-2000 Yankees to win three straight World Series titles. Los Angeles signed Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz over the offseason, putting the Dodgers in a good position to make that a reality. With starpower on both sides of the ball, the Dodgers are must-watch TV any time they play. That's especially the case on Tuesday, when Shohei Ohtani makes his first start of the season on the mound.
Watch out for: You couldn't draw up a better start to Chase DeLauter's (regular season) career. After debuting in the playoffs for the Guardian last year, DeLauter homered twice in his regular season MLB debut on Thursday, then hit a home run in each of his next two games. He joined 2016 Trevor Story as the only players to hit four home runs in their first three regular-season games.
Mets at Giants: 4 games (Thursday-Sunday)
Head-to-head: The Mets won the 2025 series, winning four of six games against the Giants. New York swept a three-game series in San Francisco in late July before losing a series against the Giants in Queens to begin the month of August.
Storyline: These two clubs have started their season on very different notes. The Mets took two of their first three games, while the Giants were swept in three games by the Yankees, scoring a lone run in the entire series at Oracle Park. Unfortunately for the Giants, things won’t get any easier, as they’ll play the Padres for a three-game set in San Diego to begin the week, before beginning a seven-game homestand against the Mets and Phillies.
Watch out for: The next home run into McCovey Cove could come in this series. There have been 108 splash hits into McCovey Cove beyond San Francisco’s Oracle Park, with the Giants’ Rafael Devers being the last to do it on Sept. 24, 2025. Between Devers and the Mets’ Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, there are plenty of hitters with pull power to put a ball into the cove.
Padres at Red Sox: 3 games (Friday-Sunday)
Head-to-head: The Padres took two of three games against the Red Sox in a series at Petco Park last August. After the Red Sox won the first game 10-2, the Padres won the second game thanks to an extra-innings walk-off hit from Ramón Laureano and won the series finale 6-2.
Storyline: There's plenty of star power in this matchup, with Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill on the Padres and Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran and Willson Contreras for the Red Sox. There's also a fascinating battle between what should be an elite Red Sox rotation and a dominant Padres bullpen, which could decide the fate of this series.
Watch out for: Wilyer Abreu is off to a scorching-hot start after providing World Baseball Classic heroics for Venezuela. The 26-year-old Venezuelan outfielder homered in two straight games to end the series against the Reds, including a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Saturday’s game. Abreu was already one of the better all-around outfielders in baseball, but it looks like he might be leveling up even more this season.
Brewers at Royals: 3 games (Friday-Sunday)
Head-to-head: The Brewers and Royals faced off in the second series of the 2025 season. The Royals had a commanding 11-1 win in the first game in Milwaukee, before the Brewers won their next two games.
Storyline: These teams feature some of the best speed-defense players in all of baseball. Between Bobby Witt Jr., Brice Turang, Maikel Garcia and Sal Frelick, there will be ample amounts of highlight-reel plays and dazzling speed on display. There's also plenty of thump from both lineups, which should make for a compelling matchup.
Watch out for: Witt is one of baseball's most dynamic players, flashing the kind of all-around excellence that gives him a good argument for the best player outside of Ohtani and Judge. There's hope that Witt has another gear in him, too, as we saw in 2024, when he finished second in AL MVP voting behind Judge. For the Royals to return to the playoffs, they might need one of those supernova seasons again from Witt.