May is in full swing. The question is, what will the new month bring?
That remains to be seen, but the first full week of the month promises to be exciting. Whether it’s divisional showdowns, two of the game's biggest superstars meeting in Interleague Play or a clash of two National League powerhouses early in the season, the week ahead will be must-see TV around baseball.
Here’s a look at five series to watch this week:
Padres at Yankees
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)
Head-to-head: The Yankees took two of three from the Padres at Petco Park over Memorial Day weekend last year. In 2023, the two clubs also faced off on Memorial Day weekend, with the Yanks taking two of three in the Bronx.
Storyline: A possible World Series preview? Given the way these clubs have opened the season, it could be. The last time they met in the Fall Classic was in 1998, when the Yankees swept their way to the second of four titles in five years. With the tremendous star power on both sides 27 years later, this week’s showdown should be a good one.
Watch out for: The titans leading each respective lineup. Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge is always one to watch, and for even more reason now that he’s batting well over .400 into May. On the other side, Fernando Tatis Jr. has opened the 2025 campaign on fire at the plate, ranking third in the NL with a .328 batting average to go along with eight homers. With his slugging ability and Gold Glove-caliber defense in right field -- not to mention his daring baserunning -- he’s another star who is always one to watch.
Mariners at A’s
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)
Head-to-head: These division foes met in a four-game series at T-Mobile Park to open the season, with each club winning two. The Mariners won the season series last year by winning nine of their 13 matchups.
Storyline: The Mariners are finally hitting, and the outburst at the plate has Seattle perched atop the standings in the American League West. But in second place? The somewhat surprising A’s, who have won nine of their last 12 games. Could this be the beginning of a season-long divisional race between them?
Watch out for: For the Mariners, the Big Dumper. Cal Raleigh is leading the Majors in home runs, smashing two on Friday night to give him 12 for the young season -- or better than a third of his total of 34 from 2024.
For the A’s, young prospects have been making a good impression. After destroying Triple-A pitching with a 1.040 OPS for Las Vegas, Nick Kurtz (the club’s No. 1 prospect) has reached base in all but one of the 11 Major League games in which he’s played. And right-hander Gunnar Hoglund (No. 14) was sensational in his big league debut last week, yielding one run over six innings against the Marlins.
Dodgers at D-backs
4 games (Thursday-Sunday)
Head-to-head: This will be the first meeting of these division rivals this season. Last year, the Dodgers won a tight season series, seven games to six.
Storyline: The D-backs are looking to rebound after missing the postseason last year -- in 2023, they made a surprise run all the way to the World Series, and along the way they swept the heavily-favored Dodgers in the NL Division Series. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have an even more star-studded roster as they face Arizona this time around.
Watch out for: Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Corbin Carroll. Yamamoto is fresh off winning the NL Pitcher of the Month Award after posting a 1.06 ERA over the first month of the season, and he’s off to a hot start in May, too. In his first start of this month, the right-hander lowered his season ERA to 0.90 with a six-inning gem against the Braves in Atlanta.
Carroll, meanwhile, is off to a hot start at the plate. In 2024, he had a rough first half of the season, but this year, he’s tied for the Major League lead in triples (four) to go along with a .919 OPS and nine homers. He’s back to the player we saw when he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2023, and was for much of that season a serious MVP candidate.
Cubs at Mets
3 games (Friday-Sunday)
Head-to-head: This will be the first matchup of the season between these clubs. Last year, the Mets won the season series, four games to three.
Storyline: Both teams have come out of the gate playing well, and each is presently atop its division. The Cubs have been sizzling at the plate, leading the Majors in runs scored and ranking third in homers. New addition Kyle Tucker, along with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki are leading a relentless offensive attack on the North Side.
The Mets, meanwhile, have been lights-out on the mound, boasting an 2.88. Offensively, only Judge has a higher OPS than Pete Alonso's 1.141, and the lineup trio of Alonso, Francisco Lindor and might be the best in the game.
Watch out for: A pair of Petes. Talk about locked in at the plate. Crow-Armstrong has nine home runs in his last 18 games -- he had 10 homers in 372 at-bats in 2024. He also has 12 steals while continuing to play a stellar defensive center field. His energy and output are helping to fuel this early Cubs run.
Alonso, the reigning NL Player of the Month, has a .350/.474/.667 slash line and eight homers so far this season. The Polar Bear is a career .253 hitter, but so far in 2025, he’s added to the hit tool to complement his signature slugging prowess.
Reds at Astros
3 games (Friday-Sunday)
Head-to-head: Cincinnati swept Houston in a three-game series at Great American Ball Park last September.
Storyline: The Astros are looking to prove the doubters wrong and make yet another run to an AL West title in 2025, despite losing Tucker and Alex Bregman this past offseason. The Reds are looking to take the next step forward with a young and exciting core that features superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz and flamethrowing right-hander Hunter Greene.
Watch out for: De La Cruz and Hunter Brown. De La Cruz is such an electric player that it goes without saying that he’s a player to watch. But so far this season, he seems to be addressing the one area of his game that has been a glaring weakness: strikeouts. He entered the 2025 campaign with a career strikeout rate well over 30%, but so far this season, his K rate is 26.8%.
Brown has been tremendous over the first month-plus of the season for the Astros. Following a solid showing in 2024, the former top prospect seems to be taking it to another level in ’25, pitching to a 1.67 ERA over his first seven starts.