For the sake of our sanity, I’m going to leave off the Mets and Phillies in this week’s MLB Series Preview. Honestly, it wears one down to put either of those struggling franchises in the top five every week. Think about it. Just when we thought the Mets might be turning things around after ending their 12-game slide and taking a three-game set versus the Twins last week, they followed that up by getting swept at home against the Colorado Rockies. That is pathetic, and as far as I’m concerned, they are temporarily banned from top-five status for at least the rest of this month, and probably most of May. The Phillies ended their 10-game losing streak on Saturday with an 8-5 win over Atlanta, but still dropped the series on Sunday, losing 6-2 in the rubber game. The Mets and Phillies are the only two squads yet to reach 10 wins, both at 9-19 heading into the new week.
On that note, let’s talk about anything but the two most disappointing clubs in MLB. Here’s this week’s top five series.
No. 1: Red Sox (11-17) at Blue Jays (12-15)
Series length: Three games (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
This is going to be a very rare occurrence this season. You won’t often see two losing teams take the No. 1 spot. I might never do this again, but there’s something about this series between the two AL East bottom feeders that intrigues me more than every other series this week. By now, everyone reading this has probably heard the news that Boston’s former manager, Alex Cora, and five other coaches were fired on Saturday. The Red Sox ownership may be tired of the poor play, but my hunch is that there is much more than meets the eye with these moves (Cora’s one-word response of “Happy” following the firing is interesting to say the least).
Now Boston heads to Toronto, coming off a series win in Baltimore, and gets set to face the 12-15 Blue Jays. Toronto has won five of its last seven contests, and the team will be getting 22-year-old SP Trey Yesavage back for the second game of this series after he missed all of April to this point with a right shoulder impingement. I trust the Blue Jays to turn things around and make a run at the Yankees atop the AL East (currently 5 ½ games behind).
On the other side, I can’t wait to see how Boston responds to an entirely new coaching staff. Overall, the players are mostly to blame for this slow start. The Red Sox rank in the lower third of just about every major offensive category, and their 4.96 starter ERA is the second-worst in the American League. Blame Cora and the coaches? Okay, fine. But does anyone believe that Chad Tracy, who was managing their Triple-A squad until replacing Cora, will have that big an impact? I’m not so sure. This was a ridiculously early panic move, even for the Red Sox. We’ll see what they get from Monday’s starter, Ranger Suarez (1-2 record, 4.00 ERA), and Wednesday’s current schedule SP, Brayan Bello (1-3, 9.00 ERA).
No. 2: Cardinals (14-13) at Pirates (16-12)
Series length: Four games (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)
The first meeting of the year between these NL Central rivals kicks off with a four-game series in Pittsburgh to take us into May. The Pirates made a nice statement with a 2-1 series win at Milwaukee over the weekend. Pittsburgh begins a seven-game homestand and will welcome another NL Central squad to town following this series when Cincinnati visits for three matches. This feels like a big stretch for the Pirates, and a chance to really show the division and, to be frank, the entire league, what kind of team they will be in 2026.
As for the Cardinals, they enter on a four-game slide after being swept in Miami over the weekend. At 14-13, they are still in a fine position in the NL Central (currently tied for last place, but only 3 ½ games behind the first-place Reds). I’m not really sure where the St. Louis offense will come from in the long term. Other than Jordan Walker’s .283 batting average, no other regular is hitting over .270. Walker has been a splendid surprise in April, and the 24-year-old finally looks like the offensive threat that many believed he would be.
Keep an eye on Thursday’s expected pitching matchup between Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes and Cardinals right-hander Hunter Dobbins. Skenes has a 0-4 lifetime record against the Cardinals, even though he has a solid 2.79 ERA over those six career starts. Dobbins will make his club debut for St. Louis after spending the first part of ’26 in the minors. He was 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA over 13 appearances during his rookie campaign in Boston.
This is the only four-game series of the week.
No. 3: Cubs (17-11) at Padres (18-9)
Series length: Three games (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
Chicago’s 10-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday in Los Angeles versus the Dodgers. They went on to lose the three-game set after being shut out 6-0 on Sunday. We knew coming into that series that all the momentum was on the Cubbies’ side after sweeps against the Phillies and Mets. We also knew that a road trip to face the two-time defending World Series champs and the always dangerous San Diego Padres would be no simple task.
After losing their first two series of the year, San Diego has won five of their last six series, with one split coming in Mexico City against the Diamondbacks over the weekend. Only the Dodgers and Atlanta have better records in MLB.
If you made me choose the pitching matchup I’d most like to watch, it would be Monday’s opener between Chicago’s southpaw, Matthew Boyd, and San Diego’s best pitcher currently going, Randy Vásquez (5 GS, 2-0, 1.88 ERA). I’m waiting for Boyd to show the stuff that made him one of the better left-handers in the game in 2025 when he went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA. Through three starts and an IL stint in between (strained left biceps), Boyd is 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA. On a positive note, he has 22 strikeouts over 14 innings pitched.
No. 4: Rays (16-11) at Guardians (15-14)
Series length: Three games (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
I always find it entertaining when two of the high-quality, lower-payroll teams in MLB meet in any regular-season series. The Rays entered 2026 with the 27th-lowest payroll, while Cleveland’s came in at 29th. Regardless of those low rankings, what do they both generally have in common? If you’re thinking that both make the most of what they have and field a competitive team just about every year, then I would agree. Cleveland has won two straight AL Central crowns and three in the last four years. Though the Rays haven’t played in the postseason since 2023, they played October baseball for five consecutive campaigns before missing out in ’24. This included back-to-back AL East titles in ’20 and ’21.
Tampa Bay enters on a four-game winning streak, and trails the Yankees by 1 ½ games in the AL East. The Guardians have dropped two consecutive series to the Astros and Blue Jays, respectively. Considering that both Steven Kwan and their star, José Ramírez, are hitting below .230 up to this point, I’d say it’s surprising to see this club in a tie for the AL Central’s top position.
No. 5: Tigers (15-14) at Atlanta (20-9)
Series length: Three games (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)
It’s the only interleague series in the top five this week. In fact, it’s the only interleague series, period. I couldn’t keep this out, considering that both are first-place teams in their respective divisions.
Atlanta continued its dominance over Philadelphia this season with an already mentioned 2-1 series win at home last weekend. With a comfortable 6 ½ game lead in the NL East, and the two preseason favorites, New York and Philly, both 10 ½ games out, all Atlanta can do moving forward is try to increase that lead even further. We know every club goes through its ups and downs. It’s a long season, and Atlanta will have its struggles at some point. But right now, they have MLB’s best record, haven’t lost a series (8-0-1), have scored the most runs (166), and have the lowest team ERA (3.13).
So, how does a team finally get Atlanta’s number in 2026? How about beginning with good starting pitching? If that’s the case, Detroit is lined up to perhaps take this three-game set in Atlanta. The Tigers are scheduled to send their top three arms to the bump to face the league’s best offense. Here are the expected pitching matchups for the series:
Tuesday: DET – Casey Mize (2-1, 2.51 ERA) versus ATL – Martín Pérez (1-1, 2.70 ERA)
Wednesday: DET – Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.72 ERA) versus ATL – JR Ritchie (1-0, 2.57 ERA)
Thursday: DET – Framber Valdez (2-1, 3.41 ERA) versus ATL – Bryce Elder (3-1, 1.95 ERA)
On paper, I have to give the pitching edge to Detroit. The question is, will the Tigers’ road struggles continue? Detroit has the best home record in MLB at 10-2, but at 5-12 on the road and facing a team that’s 10-5 at their home park, this could be problematic for the visitors. This should be a fun three days at Truist Park.
Missed the top five
Mariners (14-15) at Twins (12-16): Three games
Angels (12-17) at White Sox (11-17): Three games
Yankees (18-10) at Rangers (14-14): Three games
Marlins (13-15) at Dodgers (19-9): Three games
Astros (11-18) at Orioles (13-15): Three games
Rockies (13-16) at Reds (18-10): Three games
Giants (13-15) at Phillies (9-19): Three games
Nationals (13-16) at Mets (9-19): Three games
Royals (11-17) at A’s (15-13): Three games
Diamondbacks (15-12) at Brewers (14-13): Three games
