Big Bear Nolan's Blog

1. New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians (8th-10th)

Two teams with the best records in the American League go head to head this week. The 38-26 Yankees travel to Cleveland to take on the 37-30 AL Central leading Guardians. It is obviously a series that both need for a lot of reasons, New York is tied for the lead in the AL East behind Tampa Bay and Cleveland holds just a 4 game lead over the Chicago White Sox in the Central. These two have also matched up in the postseason multiple times with New York taking the last four postseason series between the two. So seeding is on the line with this series too.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers at Pittsburgh Pirates (9th-11th)

The back to back defending champs in the Dodgers head to PNC Park for a pivotal series vs the Pittsburgh Pirates. The NL West leading Dodgers at 42-24 are trying to stay in sight of the NL No. 1 seeded Atlanta Braves while the Pirates at 34-32 as im typing this are only 0.5 games out of the Wild Card. While the Dodgers do have a 7.5 lead in the division, its far from the time where the Dodgers can get comfortable. PNC has given LA fits in the past so we will see how the Dodgers do this week.

3. Philadelphia Phillies at Toronto Blue Jays (8th-10th)

Two teams that have found themselves in a rut to begin 2026 have really found themselves over the past few weeks. Right now the Phillies are 35-30 and hold the No. 5 seed in the NL Wild Card race where the Blue Jays are 32-34, but only 0.5 games out of the AL Wild Card. Two teams that were thought that would be contenders this season are hanging on in early June. This series coming up this week at Rogers Centre will be a huge one as it can go a long way for the winner’s season.

4. Atlanta Braves at Chicago White Sox (9th-11th)

This series has a lot more at stake than what most thought at the start of the season. Coming off 2025, The Braves missed the postseason due to a lot of injuries and the White Sox were coming off another tough season despite it being somewhat better then 2024. Now as both teams face off this week at Rate Field, the Atlanta Braves hold the leagues best record at 45-21 and the White Sox hold a 34-31 record which is currently good enough to be the No. 5 seed in the AL Wild Card chase. While there is still plenty of season left and plenty of teams below Chicago that are beginning to find their footing. This series is a great opportunity for the White Sox to show that they can hang with MLB’s best.

5. Arizona Diamondbacks vs Miami Marlins (9th-11th)

Big wildcard implications are on the line for this one. The D-Backs head to Loan Depot Park with a 34-31 record, 7.5 below the Dodgers in the NL West but 0.5 games above the NL Wild Card cutoff. While the Marlins aren’t totally out of it with a 31-35 record and only 3.5 games below the Wild Card. So these two teams need this one to stay close in the standings.

Let me know what series your looking forward to below in the comments!