The Blue Jays and Rays are preparing for their first meeting of the season.
AL East Teams Face Off
The Blue Jays will face the Rays in a three-game series. The Rays took seven of 13 in 2025 against the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays last won a season series against the Rays all the way back in 2017.
The AL East has already split itself into two tiers. There are 5 1/2 games separating the second-place Rays (21-12) and the third-place Blue Jays (16-18). The defending AL champs have definitely played better of late, but they dug themselves quite the hole early.
This series presents a great opportunity for the Blue Jays to get back in the conversation with New York and Tampa Bay.
Pitching Matchups to Watch
The Rays have three tough arms lined up for this series: Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan. If you can only catch one, make it McClanahan. He’s back after two lost years, and he’s looking much more like himself lately, coming off two straight scoreless outings.
Other Series to Watch
The Reds will face the Cubs in a four-game series. The Cubs have generally been better of late, but the Reds have actually won four of the last five season series between the division rivals (including 2025, when they went 8-5.)
The NL Central race is already underway. The Cardinals, Cubs and Reds have pulled ahead early, and now two of them are finally getting a look at each other. The Reds, who’ve cooled off just a little of late, could climb back into first place with a series win. The Cubs, riding a five-game win streak, have also won 11 straight at Wrigley.
The Cubs have been hit hard with pitching injuries and a few prominent hitters, among them Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman, haven’t really gotten going yet. Seiya Suzuki is hitting .308/.402/.526 with five home runs in 21 games. The Cubs are 16-6 (3rd in MLB) since getting him back on April 10; they went 6-6 to start the season.
The Athletics will face the Phillies in a three-game series. The Phillies won their sole matchup in 2025, two games to one. They’re 8-4 against the A’s since 2022.
The week of May 4 will feature the first meeting between the reigning American League champions and an unexpectedly hot division rival.