Yankees vs. Dodgers, Elly vs. Witt headline this week's series to watch

Happy Memorial Day!

It's the unofficial start of summer, and the action across the Major Leagues is heating up along with the weather. This final week of the season's second full month has a bunch of attractive matchups on tap: Power-packed NL East rivals square off in Philly. Two of the sport's most gifted players share the same field in Kansas City. Last year's World Series combatants pick up where they left off last October. And that's just a sampling.

Here are five series you need to watch this week.

Giants at Tigers
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head to head: The Giants took two out of three games when these teams met at Oracle Park last August. But the Tigers have four straight wins over San Francisco inside Comerica Park, dating back to August 2022.

Storyline: Who thought at the beginning of the season that we would reach Memorial Day with the Tigers holding the best record in the American League (34-20) and with the 31-win Giants just one game back in the NL West, nipping at the heels of the mighty Dodgers? However, neither team has been at its best recently. San Francisco is 7-8 in its past 15 games while the Tigers lost three of four games at home against the Guardians over the weekend. Detroit was able to salvage the series finale behind a Tarik Skubal masterpiece.

Watch out for: Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson. The Tigers' first-round picks in 2019 and 2020, respectively, are authoring career years in the middle of Detroit's lineup. Greene has nine home runs and a 1.004 OPS over the past month. Torkelson is on pace to have the club's first 40-homer season since Miguel Cabrera in 2013.

Reds at Royals
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head to head: The home team has lost the past seven games in this series. Kansas City outscored Cincinnati 28-3 in a three-game sweep at Great American Ball Park last August. But the Reds have won four consecutive games at Kauffman Stadium, dating back to July 2021.

Storyline: These two Central Division teams are fighting to get into a winning rhythm. The Reds have been skipping over the .500 line throughout the season, and their roller coaster ride has entered another dip as they have lost four of their past five games. The Royals are four games better than .500, but they have dropped nine of their previous 15 and averaged just 2.67 runs per game during that span. Still, this series is worth your time because it features a showdown between scintillating shortstops.

Watch out for: Elly De La Cruz and Bobby Witt Jr. They can create instant offense and shine on defense. They can make you say, "How did he do that?" Each star is on track to clear the 50-steal threshold this season, although they have also left something to be desired at the plate; De La Cruz had a 93 OPS+ entering Sunday, and Witt is on pace for only 15 home runs after back-to-back 30-homer campaigns. But whenever they are on the diamond, you are never too far away from possibly seeing something special.

Braves at Phillies
3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)

Head to head: The Braves and Phillies clashed in Atlanta back in early April. The Braves, who had a 1-8 record entering that series, took two of three games. The Phils have claimed four of the past five games in this series at Citizens Bank Park.

Storyline: The Phillies saw their nine-game winning streak get snapped Sunday by the A's, but that run pushed them past the Mets in the NL East and has them in possession of MLB's top record (34-19). Although Atlanta is just 25-27 and 8 1/2 back in the division, it received a huge shot in the arm on Friday with the season debut of Ronald Acuña Jr. He wasted absolutely no time before making an impact.

Watch out for: The hot hitters on both sides. There should be plenty of solid pitching on display during this series -- the scheduled starters are not too shabby. But they will have their hands full with these lineups, especially since some once-quiet bats have awakened. For Atlanta, Matt Olson has five dingers and eight extra-base hits in his past eight games. Ozzie Albies picked up two hits Sunday and is batting .366 (15-for-41) during his 11-game hitting streak.

For Philadelphia, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper recorded an OPS of .997 and 1.098, respectively, during the team's win streak. They have been setting the table for Kyle Schwarber, who has 18 homers, tied with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead.

Twins at Mariners
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head to head: The Twins are 5-2 against the Mariners since the start of 2024. That includes a series win in a three-game set at T-Mobile Park last June.

Storyline: The Twins' 13-game winning streak is now a thing of the past, but entering this week with 16 victories in their past 19 games is still pretty sharp. Minnesota will fly all the way across the country -- from Tampa Bay to Seattle -- for this weekend series and be greeted by the first-place Mariners and Cal Raleigh, who might be putting together one of the greatest seasons by any catcher in MLB history.

Watch out for: The bullpens. The Twins owe a lot to their relief corps for their recent roll. That crew has allowed only 14 earned runs over the past 19 games (71 2/3 innings). On the other side, Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz still has yet to allow an earned run through 22 2/3 frames. He has a 0.71 WHIP and a .108 opponents' batting average, thanks in large part to his nearly untouchable slider. Batters are 2-for-45 with 21 strikeouts against Muñoz's top pitch this year.

Yankees at Dodgers
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head to head: These teams have split their 22 all-time regular-season meetings evenly. The Dodgers took two of three at Yankee Stadium last season. The Yanks did the same when these franchises last faced off in L.A in 2023. Of course, that doesn't take postseason games into account.

Storyline: Besides all of the history that's baked into every game between two of MLB's most storied franchises, this is a 2024 World Series rematch. It might also be a 2025 World Series preview. Both sides are missing plenty of impact players due to injuries and yet each is atop its respective division. The Yankees own the best run differential in MLB (+107), and the Dodgers are tied for fourth (+59).

Watch out for: Everything? There will be stars and storylines wherever you turn. Judge is batting .397 and making another run at a Triple Crown. Freddie Freeman is hitting like he's in his prime at age 35. Ohtani is, well, Ohtani! We'll see Cody Bellinger make another return to Dodger Stadium, and this will also be a homecoming for SoCal native Max Fried, who is in line to start Friday's opener and has been historically good during his first season with New York. The list of things that deserve your attention goes on and on, but long story short: You will want to watch every moment of this series.