World Series rematch highlights this week's 5 best series

2:15 AM UTC

Opening Week festivities are already in the books, but there’s plenty more baseball on deck.

This week’s slate of games features a number of dates we’ve had circled on the calendar all winter -- from a World Series rematch to the Rays’ return to Tropicana Field to more MLB action involving baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect, .

Here are five series to watch for the week of April 6.

Dodgers at Blue Jays
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: Everyone remembers what happened the last time these two teams met, right? The Dodgers narrowly bested the Blue Jays in a truly epic World Series last fall, seizing Games 6 and 7 in Toronto to become baseball’s first repeat champs since the 1998-2000 Yankees.

Storyline: It’s rare that the baseball calendar treats us to a World Series rematch this early in the season. In fact, this will be the second-earliest World Series rematch since 1997, when the advent of Interleague Play first made this oddity possible. The earliest such rematch happened in 2016, when the Royals and Mets clashed on Opening Day a year after meeting in the previous season's Fall Classic.

Watch out for: Tuesday’s pitching matchup, which pits against . Toronto fans would be forgiven for shuddering at the name “Yamamoto,” after the right-hander’s historic World Series performance; he put a weary bullpen on his shoulders with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in Game 7, one day after keeping LA alive with a brilliant Game 6 start. Will the Blue Jays' bats crack the World Series MVP this go-around? Meanwhile, Gausman has been sensational through his first two starts of 2026, allowing just one run while notching 21 strikeouts in 12 innings. He’s handled well, too: The four-time MVP is just 2-for-17 (.118) off Gausman in his career.

Royals at Guardians
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: This AL Central rivalry has been lopsided for a while now, with Kansas City winning the season series once in the last 10 campaigns. That came in 2024, which, coincidentally, is the only time in that span that the Royals have made the postseason.

Storyline: It’s always a treat when these teams meet and two of baseball’s consistently elite players share the field. Last season, (8.0 fWAR) and (6.3 fWAR) were two of just 10 players to accumulate more than six WAR, per FanGraphs. For these two superstars, extraordinary feats seem ordinary. Only five players recorded consecutive 6-WAR seasons from 2024 to 2025: Witt, Ramírez, Aaron Judge, Ohtani and Francisco Lindor (again, going by FanGraphs’ version of WAR).

Watch out for: looks a lot like an ace, and not just because he’s coming off a dominant 10-strikeout gem against the Dodgers last week. Since the 2025 All-Star break, only two qualified pitchers -- the Orioles’ Trevor Rogers and two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal -- have a lower ERA than Williams’ 2.19 mark. In that same span, he’s posted the third-best batting average against (.178) and 10th-highest strikeout rate (29.1%). For a Cleveland team flush with young pitching, Williams’ emergence is a pivotal development. He’s expected to start the middle game of the series on Tuesday.

Padres at Pirates
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: San Diego has dominated the head-to-head series with Pittsburgh over the last two years, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings. The Padres have outscored the Pirates by 26 runs in those matchups.

Storyline: The Griffin era is underway, with baseball’s top overall prospect making his much-anticipated debut last Friday in the Pirates’ home opener. The phenom didn't waste any time making an indelible first impression: He laced an RBI double into the left-center-field gap in his first at-bat. The 19-year-old has all the makings of a franchise player. Expect more excitement from Griffin as he continues his first Major League homestand.

Watch out for: Out of the gates, the Pirates configured their rotation with flame-throwing as the No. 5 starter. That means that Chandler and will often start on consecutive days, including in this series. The 23-year-old Chandler averaged 99.1 mph with his four-seamer while tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his first start of the year, notching six strikeouts. Meanwhile, Skenes looked more like his sterling self in his second start of the season after an Opening Day clunker. Count us in to watch these high-octane hurlers square off against a star-laden San Diego lineup, headlined by and .

Yankees at Rays
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The Bombers have taken the season series from their AL East counterparts in each of the last two years, including a 9-4 head-to-head record last season. New York also went 5-1 at Steinbrenner Field -- the organization’s Spring Training facility (and home to the Low-A Tampa Tarpons), which doubled as Tampa Bay’s makeshift home for the 2025 season.

Storyline: Finally, the Rays are back home. On Monday, Tampa Bay will reopen Tropicana Field for its first game in 561 days after Hurricane Milton ravaged the stadium and shredded its iconic domed roof in October 2024. There’s a new playing surface and a number of revamped features around the ballpark, along with some familiar touches -- like the cownose stingrays that reside beyond the right-center-field fence. The three-game weekend set with the Yankees concludes what should be a celebratory opening homestand.

Watch out for: Of all the amazing young pitchers in the Majors right now, might be the best? The 25-year-old has been spotless through his first two starts, allowing just three hits and no runs while striking out 15 hitters in 11 2/3 innings. Oh, and he hasn't walked a batter, either. With an overpowering arsenal, Schlittler looks like an early dark horse for the AL Cy Young Award. He'll take the ball at some point over the weekend, likely on Sunday, with the Yankees planning to reinsert No. 5 starter into the rotation on Friday.

Astros at Mariners
4 games (Friday-Monday)

Head-to-head: Buoyed by a three-game sweep in Houston last September, the Mariners brought the Astros’ reign atop the AL West to a close. These two teams expect to compete for the division crown again in 2026, and, as usual, the club that wins the head-to-head series will have an advantage. Seattle has taken the season series in three straight years, including an 8-5 mark last season.

Storyline: Can get going? On the heels of a strange spring -- which included a hitless stint for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic -- the Big Dumper has struggled to begin the 2026 season. He struck out in each of his first eight at-bats and is still searching for his first home run after launching 60 homers in 2025. Seattle’s lineup hasn’t gotten into a groove yet -- and are off to slow starts, too -- but Raleigh is the engine. Maybe the divisional showdown gets him going. He’s homered in each of his last two games against Houston, dating back to last season.

Watch out for: . Limited to just 48 games last season due to a pair of injuries, Alvarez is healthy again -- and he looks a whole lot like himself. The left-handed slugger is hitting .417 with three home runs and a 1.479 OPS through his first seven games, fueling a resurgent Astros offense. The 28-year-old is ripping the cover off the ball, too: Through play on Saturday, Alvarez has 14 hard-hit balls and five barrels. Seattle’s stalwart pitching staff will have its hands full this weekend: Alvarez has 15 homers with a .989 OPS in 62 career regular-season games against the Mariners.