Early-season baseball can, believe it or not, tell us a lot about what might happen in October. Four of the six first-place teams on April 7, 2024, went on to the postseason, along with four second-place teams.
April baseball – like any part of the season – can also give us postseason-level pitching duels. And as starting rotations turn back to the top this week, we’ll see several mound matchups that would look perfectly comfortable in the playoffs.
Here are five series to watch this week, along with some pitching matchups that could give them a postseason feel.
Orioles at Diamondbacks
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)
Head to head: This is the first and only series between the clubs this season. The Orioles won two of three in Baltimore last year, but Arizona scored more runs, 15-12.
Storyline: After taking two of three at Yankee Stadium last week, the D-backs have another chance to make a statement against an American League World Series hopeful. With the Dodgers, Padres and Giants starting hot in the National League West and the Yankees and their torpedo bats dominating AL headlines, these are two potential contenders who have flown under the radar.
Watch out for: Arizona’s Corbin Burnes is not scheduled to pitch against his former team, but we do get a faceoff of Opening Day starters between the D-backs' Zac Gallen and Baltimore’s Zach Eflin on Monday. Gallen, coming of a 13-strikeout performance against the Yankees, has allowed seven runs in 11 1/3 career innings against Baltimore. Eflin has a 3.18 ERA in five appearances against Arizona.
Yankees at Tigers
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)
Head to head: The teams meet for the first time in 2025. Last season, the Yankees took the first four games from the Tigers, but Detroit won the final two. There were just 30 runs scored over those six games. This is the Yankees’ first series against an AL opponent in 2025.
Storyline: Last year’s season series between the teams reflects the Tigers’ late-season surge, as Detroit went 33-17 over the final 50 games to reach the playoffs after a 53-59 start. The Tigers want to build on the 2024 momentum and prove that eight-week stretch was real. The Yankees want to regain their supremacy over another playoff hopeful.
Watch out for: You guessed it – great pitching. A Carlos Rodon-Casey Mize matchup on Monday is a nice appetizer before reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal pitches for Detroit on Tuesday. The series concludes with Jack Flaherty and Max Fried taking the Comerica Park mound on Wednesday. Skubal struck out 12 over six innings last May 5 at Yankee Stadium, his only 2024 start against the Bombers.
Phillies at Braves
3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)
Head to head: This is the first series of 2025 between the NL East rivals, who play 13 times this season. Atlanta won the season series last year 7-6 with Philadelphia taking three of the final four games. The Braves lead the all-time series 1,325-1,204.
Storyline: Are we seeing the end of a rivalry between powerhouses that have been mainstays in the playoffs this decade? The Phillies so far seem on a similar track, but the Braves are trying to dig out of a 1-8 start. Atlanta should get a boost after catcher Sean Murphy was activated from the Injured List on Sunday, with star pitcher Spencer Strider not far behind.
Watch out for: Zack Wheeler versus Chris Sale is one of those “throw out the records” kind of pitching showdowns, and we’ll see it on Tuesday. Sale, the Atlanta lefty, won his first Cy Young Award last year, and Wheeler has finished second twice. Sale has a 4.63 ERA in four career starts against the Phillies, but he hasn’t faced them since March 2024. Wheeler has pitched in the NL East for his entire 11-year career and owns a 2.95 ERA in 30 starts against the Braves.
Rangers at Mariners
3 games (Friday-Sunday)
Head to head: The AL West opponents square off for the first time in 2025. Last season, Seattle won 10 of 13 games, with five of them decided by one run.
Storyline: Will the Mariners rediscover their offense? Yes, T-Mobile Park is an extreme pitchers’ venue, but Seattle managed to score 758 runs while playing half of its games there in 2023 – that total dropped to 676 last season. So far in 2025, the Mariners are averaging just over three runs per game while hovering around a .200 team batting average.
Watch out for: A start by Jacob deGrom and appearances by several pitchers who hope to someday achieve his level of excellence. deGrom is in line to pitch for Texas on Friday against 26-year-old Bryce Miller, who broke out last year with a 2.94 ERA in 31 starts. Rookie Kumar Rocker pitches for Texas on Saturday against 25-year-old Bryan Woo. On Sunday, it’s Nathan Eovaldi against Logan Gilbert.
Cubs at Dodgers
3 games (Friday-Sunday)
Head to head: Last month’s Japan Series represented the first time the Cubs and Dodgers met on Opening Day in more than 60 years. The Dodgers took both games in Tokyo and won their first six stateside for an 8-0 start.
Storyline: The Cubs rebounded after Japan to win seven of their next nine games to take first place in the NL Central, but continuing that surge against the Dodgers is a different animal. The Cubs have the firepower to do it, though – they've scored 77 runs to L.A.’s 57, with 24 more hits and 27 more walks in one extra game played.
Watch out for: New acquisitions for teams that dominated the offseason. Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, acquired in a trade from Houston, has five home runs and a 1.203 OPS, and left-hander Matthew Boyd hasn’t allowed a run in his first two starts. New Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto has a 1.021 OPS. Boyd is scheduled to pitch against Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki on Friday.