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Every day, Pinstripe Alley offers updates on what the Yankees’ top American League opponents are up to through the Rivalry Roundup. The AL East is well-trodden ground there, but with two months completed, we’re going to take a peek around MLB as a whole and check in with each of the other five divisions. Who’s surprising? Who’s underwhelming? Who’s simply mediocre at the moment? Read on and find out.

First Place: Cleveland Guardians (34-27)

Top Position Player: Brayan Rocchio (1.9 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Parker Messick  (1.8 fWAR)

Coming into May, the Guardians sat at an even .500 but still found themselves atop the AL Central. A strong month allowed Cleveland to create a little wiggle room between them and the even mark. Their run differential now also sits in positive territory, if only barely at a +1. That said, this still looks more like a division winner by default than a powerhouse. The Guardians continue to rely on strong pitching and timely contributions at the plate, which has been their formula for most of recent memory.

Offensively, Cleveland has largely treaded water, currently ranking 18th in MLB in runs scored. As expected, José Ramírez remains the engine that makes everything go, but shortstop Brayan Rocchio has emerged as the club’s most pleasant surprise. Now in his fourth season, Rocchio is on pace for the best year of his career with a .779 OPS and four home runs. Much of that success can be traced to improved plate discipline, as he has cut his strikeout rate significantly and needs just one more home run to match last season’s total with less than half the games played.

Part of Cleveland’s May surge may also be tied to the arrival of Travis Bazzana. The second baseman enjoyed an impressive first full month in the majors, slashing .327/.416/.500 with three home runs and eight stolen bases. With Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzardo both struggling to produce consistently, Bazzana has helped add much-needed length and athleticism to the lineup.

As fans have come to expect, however, the pitching remains the driving force behind Cleveland’s success. The Guardians rank among the top 10 teams in ERA and the top five in strikeouts per nine innings. Starters Parker Messick and Gavin Williams have led the way. Messick owns a 6-1 record and a 2.24 ERA, while Williams has gone 8-3 with a 3.07 ERA. The bullpen is rounding into form as well, with right-handers Cade Smith and Colin Holderman joining left-hander Erik Sabrowski as trusted late-inning options for manager Stephen Vogt.

Second Place: Chicago White Sox (32-27)

Top Position Player: Colson Montgomery (2.3 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Davis Martin (2.5 fWAR)

Other than Cam Schlittler’s emergence, there may not be a better story in baseball this season than Munetaka Murakami and the White Sox. After years spent buried in the cellar, Chicago has emerged as a young and surprisingly spicy club capable of winning on any given night. The good vibes took a blow with an injury to Murakami but calling up prospect Jacob Gonzalez helps.

The Southsiders were led in May by their three big bats: Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery who have the club within one game of the division lead. They may not wow anyone with their batting averages, but they can certainly hit the ball out of the park. The trio has already combined for 48 home runs this season.

On the mound, the White Sox appear to have an ace emerging in Davis Martin. If nothing else, the Texas Tech product is already having a career year. The right-hander is 8-1 with a 2.00 ERA through 11 starts this season. Those eight victories already represent a new career high for the fourth-year pitcher. However, as a unit Chicago’s pitching staff remains a work in progress. The White Sox end May ranked 22nd in baseball with a 4.36 ERA and 25th in walks allowed per nine innings at 3.89.

Third Place: Minnesota Twins (27-33)

Top Position Player: Byron Buxton (2.1 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Joe Ryan (2.1 fWAR)

The Twins end May occupying familiar territory: close enough to .500 to remain relevant, but not quite good enough to inspire much confidence. Minnesota has avoided the complete collapse many predicted after last year’s roster turnover, yet they have struggled to establish any real momentum.

Offensively, Minnesota ranks among the top 10 teams in baseball in runs scored, thanks largely to the brilliance of Byron Buxton. The veteran center fielder has been on an absolute tear this season and was especially dangerous in May, slashing .273/.349/.688 with a 1.037 OPS. Buxton already has 17 home runs on the season and when healthy is one of the best hitters in the majors. Unfortunately for the Twins, the good fortune surrounding Buxton’s health appears it might come at the sacrifice of catcher Ryan Jeffers. Jeffers underwent hamate surgery in mid-May and is expected to miss at least another month.

While the offense has done its part, the pitching staff has been a different story. Minnesota enters June in the bottom third of baseball with a 4.47 ERA and a modest 7.99 strikeouts per nine innings. After a rocky April, Joe Ryan rebounded nicely in May, holding opponents to a .163 batting average and allowing just five earned runs across five starts. However, much like the offense, the Twins also had to navigate an injury scare with one of their key contributors. Taj Bradley missed most of May with pectoral inflammation before returning to the rotation at the end of the month.

The biggest issue, however, is the bullpen. To put it kindly, relief pitching has been a major problem for Minnesota throughout the first two months of the season. Manager Derek Shelton is still searching for answers once he takes the ball from his starters.

Fourth Place: Kansas City Royals (22-37)

Top Position Player: Bobby Witt Jr. (3.4 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Seth Lugo (1.7 fWAR)

With the Yankees’ recent trip to Kansas City still fresh in everyone’s mind, it may come as a surprise to see the Royals sitting near, but not at, the bottom of the division. The Royals entered 2026 expecting to contend. Instead, they have become one of baseball’s biggest disappointments, only spared that title by the team currently sitting below them in the standings.

At the plate, the Royals have largely become a one-man show. That man, of course, is Bobby Witt Jr. The superstar shortstop is putting together another MVP-caliber campaign, slashing .286/.350/.474 with nine home runs while continuing to provide excellent defense at shortstop. Salvador Perez has also launched nine home runs this season, but the veteran catcher has struggled overall. At 36 years old it appears Father Time may finally be catching up to the former perennial All-Star.

Michael Wacha has continued his impressive season on the mound, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.18 ERA during May. Wacha also looked sharp against the Yankees on May 25th, tossing seven innings while allowing just two runs. Unfortunately for Kansas City, the rest of the rotation, outside of Seth Lugo, has not held up its end of the bargain. The Royals rank 24th in baseball with a 4.51 ERA.

The Royals bullpen could become an area of interest as the trade deadline approaches. Right-handers John Schreiber and Daniel Lynch IV have both put together strong seasons. Schreiber owns a 2.86 ERA, while Lynch has posted a 1.93 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Both worked scoreless innings against the Yankees during a series in which New York scored 26 runs over three games.

Last Place: Detroit Tigers (22-38)

Top Position Player: Kevin McGonigle (2.2 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Casey Mize (1.7 fWAR)

The Tigers entered May tied for the division lead at 16-16 and seemingly positioned to challenge Cleveland throughout the summer. It was not quite the start Detroit envisioned, but a club many picked to represent the American League in October still looked very much alive. Then everything unraveled.

The loss of ace Tarik Skubal on May 4th sent Detroit spiraling from contender to the bottom of the weakest division in baseball following a disastrous 6-19 month. Along the way, the Tigers watched their run differential swing from plus-nine to minus-39 as nearly everything that could go wrong did.

The problems have shown up on both sides of the ball. Detroit enters June ranked 28th in baseball in runs scored while sitting squarely in the middle of the pack with a 15th-place team ERA. The Tigers also grade out as a bottom-third defensive club, making it difficult to overcome their shortcomings elsewhere.

The silver lining for Tigers fans, if there is one, is that the AL Central remains remarkably forgiving and a run at the end took the division last season. Top prospect Kevin McGonigle has also looked more than capable in his debut, giving the organization a glimpse of a brighter future. However, luckily for the rest of the league, Detroit increasingly looks like a team whose hopeful season has already slipped away.

At first glance, it seems like good news that the Atlanta Braves won’t have to deal with Paul Skenes once the Pittsburgh Pirates come to town since he’s going to be pitching against the Astros during the midweek series. With that being said, the pitching matchups still figure to be pretty tough for the Braves since Atlanta will likely be seeing Braxton Ashcraft for the Pirates. Before he comes to town with Pittsburgh, old friend Kevin Gausman will be returning with the Toronto Blue Jays during the midweek series.

While Atlanta’s lineup has frequently stepped up to the occasion whenever needed, this’ll still be a pretty stern test for the whole week as far as the opposing pitching is concerned. Atlanta’s offense will have to be on point this week if they want to keep this blistering run of form going in the right direction. There’s no reason to doubt them, right? Let’s get into what lies ahead for the Braves this week.

June 2-4: Toronto Blue Jays

Current Record: 29-31Projected Record (via FanGraphs):81-81

Needless to say, this is certainly not where the Blue Jays wanted to be after coming so agonizingly close in 2025 to winning the World Series for the first time since 1993. They’re a distant third place behind the Rays and the Yankees and while all isn’t lost for the Blue Jays at the moment (FanGraphs is still giving them a 43.5 percent chance of making the Postseason and the rest of the American League is pretty mediocre), I’d imagine that they would like to pull away from the rest of the pack in the AL Wild Card race sooner rather than later.

The one thing that’s been holding Toronto back has been their offense — or lack therof. As a team, the Blue Jays have produced a wRC+ of 94 so far this season, which is good for the fourth-worst mark in the American League and the seventh-worst mark in all of baseball. This isn’t to say that the Jays don’t have their fair share of dangerous hitters — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may be struggling to find some pop in his bat right now but he’s still producing at the plate, nonetheless. Kazuma Okamoto has been bringing the pop with 12 dingers and a .205 Isolated Power number so far. Daulton Varsho has been pretty consistent and reliable and they’ve also gotten solid production out of Ernie Clement and Jesús Sánchez as well.

Outside of that, it’s been pretty tough sledding for the Blue Jays and it’s pretty clear that whatever magic tonic George Springer tapped into to produce a near-career year in 2025 has run out because he’s come crashing back down to Earth in terms of production here in 2026. Atlanta will have the top of their rotation going in this series and this feels like an opportunity for them to help keep this Blue Jays lineup quiet over the course of these three games.

With that being said, this could come down to which team has the more consistent pitching across this series. Old friend Kevin Gausman will be starting the series opener and that’ll be a tough task considering that he’s gotten off to a fantastic start to this season so far. He’s only had one start this season where he just got completely blown up, which was back in early-May when the Rays got him for seven runs (six earned) over 4.2 innings. It’s perfectly possible for this Atlanta lineup to do the same but if he keeps them quiet, it wouldn’t be a huge shock, either. Patrick Corbin is also scheduled to pitch during this season and while this would’ve been a green light for scoring a bushel of runs in the past, apparently the Blue Jays have fixed him because he’s actually been pretty solid so far. This won’t be a cakewalk at all!

Toronto’s pitching staff as a whole is sitting on an ERA- of 95 but a FIP- of 87 — that ERA- is above average but that FIP- number is top-five in all of baseball, which would suggest that they could also be vulnerable to making some mistakes in the field. They’re entering this series with a team OAA of -1 which isn’t horrible but could provide an opportunity for the Braves to take advantage of some gaffes in the field. This could be a (say it with me, now) tricky series for the Braves but it seems like a manageable one for this squad with the form that they’re in.

Tuesday, June 2 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)
Wednesday, June 3 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Thursday, June 4 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

June 5-7: Pittsburgh Pirates

Current Record:32-28Projected Record:85-77

As I mentioned right at the beginning, there’s no Paul Skenes for this series since he’ll be pitching on Wednesday. With that being said, that is very small comfort because Braxton Ashcraft is line to start the weekend series at Cobb County and both of them have been very good to start this season for the Pirates. Ashcraft in particular has been very tough to deal with and through 12 starts, he’s keeping pace with Paul Skenes and (according to fWAR) actually outpacing him a tiny bit as well as Ashcraft has 2.0 fWAR to Skenes’ 1.9. The only knock on Ashcraft’s body of work so far is that whenever he does give up a hit, it’s usually of the Hard-Hit variety and his average exit velocity is around 90-mph. He’s not un-hittable but it’s safe to say that there will likely be some tough sledding ahead once he takes the mound.

I’m also hoping that we’ll get a Mitch Keller/Bryce Elder matchup since that would be Elder’s second “Who’s going to keep getting away with it” matchup this season after he got one over on Justin Wrobleski back at Dodger Stadium. Keller is having a pretty solid year on paper but he’s also had a handful of starts so far where he’s gotten knocked around. In fact, earlier this weekend the Minnesota Twins got him for seven runs on 10 hits over four innings. If that version of Keller shows up then the Braves could be living lavishly against him this weekend. With that being said, Pittsburgh’s pitching staff as a whole has proven to be pretty tough to deal with as they’re carrying an ERA- of 95 and a FIP- of 92 as a staff. They can get the job done and this crew definitely won’t make life easy on the Braves this weekend.

The lineup will have to find a way to produce because the Pirates can definitely hit.They’re currently seventh in all of baseball when it comes to team wRC+ (107) and they’re coming off of a month where they actually went off at the plate a bit and scored the third-most runs in all of baseball during May. They plated 148 runs (trailing just the Yankees and Nationals) and put up a wRC+ of 116 for the month. For comparison’s sake, the Braves scored 139 runs in May and put up a wRC+ of 105. Assuming that they keep it up against Houston, the Pirates offense is going to be coming into town on a bit of a heater.

Brandon Lowe has hit the ground running with the Pirates, Bryan Reynolds is Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz appears to be primed for a big bounce-back season and Spencer Horowitz is looking right at a potential breakout season, himself. They did lose Konnor Griffin to the IL but they got Ryan O’Hearn back as a corresponding move, so there won’t be too much of a dropoff when it comes to the level of production. It’s a lineup full of tough outs and they’ve also finally started to move away from former Braves player Marcell Ozuna as their DH as he has been absolutely scuffling in his new surroundings. Despite that, the Pirates are mashing the ball and Atlanta’s pitching staff will need to be on top of things if they want to keep the Buccos quiet once this weekend’s series rolls around.

Friday, June 5 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Saturday, June 6 at 4:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Sunday, June 7 at 1:35 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

It’s now June, the month when we expected to see Garrett Crochet again. But while Crochet was progressing nicely in his return from shoulder inflammation and had hoped to skip a rehab assignment altogether, he has since experienced lat tightness and will hit pause on his throwing program. Moreover, he’ll get an MRI some time this week. This doesn’t sound major — yet — but it’s not what you want to hear. “Feels like a very minor setback. It [stinks] to even call it a setback. It doesn’t feel like it even deserves that title,” Crochet said. “Just trying to make sure that when I do return to play, that I’m there for the rest of the year.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

Crochet isn’t the only Sox star to hit a setback (regardless of what he wants to call it). Roman Anthony once again experienced pain and discomfort in his hand when he tried to hit off of a tee. There is no timeline for his return, though he is going to try to swing again tomorrow. “It’s not Roman’s fault,” said Chad Tracy. “None of that’s anybody’s fault. It’s just that he got hurt and it’s a nagging injury on a hand when he’s trying to hit. We have to be patient with that and it’s gonna take a little longer.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

With Anthony on the shelf, the Sox can’t afford any more injuries to their few productive hitters. That might be why Chad Tracy gave some time off to Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela yesterday, both whom were a little banged up. Contreras is dealing with some arm issues, partly due to being hit by pitches, while Rafaela has a bit of a sore back. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

Let’s hope those injuries don’t linger, because between Jarren Duran’s recent resurgence, Trevor Story’s injury, and Caleb Durbin’s reduced playing time, it’s starting to feel like the Red Sox can actually hit. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)

Mickey Gasper deserves a shout-out for his production in the lineup as well, especially since few people ever predicted he’d get to the big leagues. “I had a big chip on my shoulder,” said Gasper “I wanted to prove that I belonged at that level.” (Trevor Haas, Boston.com)

Is the fact that the Red Sox are now counting on Mickey Gaspar instead of a free agent bat like Kyle Schwarber a testement to Craig Breslow’s overreliance on analytical models? “Theo Epstein has been disappointed by the Sox’ intense analytical direction under Breslow,” according to this deep dive into Breslow’s front office. “Theo was an all-forms-of-information guy,’ said one evaluator who was with the Sox during the Epstein era. ‘He didn’t just live on Carmine [their internal database at the time]. He listened to people.‘ (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

Not the greatest week offensively, but hey, they came home from the West coast going 4-2. As I stated in the morning links, there are issues at the plate, but at least the pitching has been on point.

Three up

Cristopher Sanchez – I mean, if you’re going to break records held by players that the average fan is going to have to look up on Baseball Reference to even have a visual of, you’re going to hold a spot on this prestigious list. At some point, this streak is going to end, the one Sanchez is currently on. For now, we need to continue to bask in the greatness Sanchez has established.

Kyle Schwarber – If you had asked me to remember the home runs Schwarber hit this week, I couldn’t tell you. This week was something of an uneventful, boring exercise since they were on the West coast and sleep kept calling my name. Take a peek back and you’ll see that his home runs were rather important ones and should be constant reminders of how important Schwarber is to this lineup. Seriously, imagine this offense without his power being supplied in the middle of the lineup. Actually, maybe don’t since that would be a rather bleak portrait.

The fans’ patience – The Phillies are over .500. That’s good! The offense is pretty bad. That’s bad! The patience being given by the fans is something the team should be thankful for as their performance on the field has been quite bad of late. There are several players that might hear the impatient fans when they return home this week if their current level of production keeps up. But for the most part, the people have been pretty good about how uneven this team is. They deserve a shout out.

Three down

Adolis Garcia – I think it’s time. Garcia has quite literally done nothing in the month of May. He had eleven hits in 101 plate appearances. Three of them went for extra bases. He’s walking more often, but his offensive profile has lent nothing to the team as a whole. His defense is spectacular, this we cannot deny. Yet I’d be more than willing to give a little defense back if it meant bringing someone different aboard that could actually have an impact at the plate. It’s 226 plate appearances as a whole, so it’s not a small sample size any longer. It might be time to move on.

Andrew Painter – Painter’s season was perking up a bit of late, but his start in Los Angeles was a clunker. He’s been disappointing this year to say the least. It’s growing pains, I get that, but I didn’t expect an ERA that was closer to six for the season. No reason at all to use the term “bust” any time soon, but it’s fine to be disappointed with what he has done this year.

The offense as a whole – They stink.

The Tanner Scott redemption story took a dark, twisted turn Saturday night.

Not because the Dodgers reliever gave up three runs in the eighth inning to the Philadelphia Phillies, blowing a save opportunity and getting tagged with his first loss of the season. Getting knocked around happens.

But comments directed toward Scott’s wife on social media afterward were beyond alarming. Maddie Scott reposted vile comments from one user in particular that threatened not only her and her husband, but also their newborn son.

“When did it stop being a game?” Maddie Scott wrote on an Instagram story that has expired but was captured by the New York Post. “I don’t speak out often. Ever actually. I promise you, you don’t know what it’s like unless you’re living it.”

Read more:Plaschke: Ryan Ward becomes an unlikely star in memorable Dodger Stadium debut

The answer to her rhetorical question is layered. Maybe baseball stopped being a game when her husband signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Dodgers before the 2025 season, elevating expectations.

Maybe the end came seven years ago when a Supreme Court ruling led to sports gambling becoming legal. Or maybe fun and games ceased some 20 years ago when Facebook, Twitter and Instagram launched and anonymous threats could be dispatched by anyone with an account.

Death threats directed toward athletes have become disturbingly frequent. Without giving oxygen to the threats by repeating them, Scott is hardly the first pitcher whose family has been targeted after a loss.

Liam Hendriks of the Boston Red Sox, Lance McCullers Jr. of the Houston Astros, Tayler Saucedo of the Seattle Mariners and Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees are among those who have endured online attacks in the past year.

Scott took heat last year when he pitched poorly in his first season with the Dodgers. Expected to become the team’s closer, the left-hander had an MLB-high 10 blown saves and did not pitch in the postseason.

This year, however, Scott has bounced back admirably. Even after the loss Saturday, he has a sparkling 2.19 earned-run average and five saves.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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The Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants begin a four-game set tonight, with San Francisco looking to build on Sunday's offensive explosion.

However, my Giants vs. Brewers predictions are targeting Milwaukee's pitching to dominate the series opener amid their impressive form. 

Find out more in my MLB picks for Monday, June 1. 

Who will win Giants vs Brewers today: Brewers moneyline (-140)

The Milwaukee Brewers turn to Shane Drohan, who owns a 2.63 ERA this season, and posted a 2.05 FIP in May. While he's expected to work only a few innings, Milwaukee can comfortably turn the game over to one of baseball's best bullpens. 

The Brewers' relievers have allowed just a 6% barrel rate this season and enter Monday's contest rested after only two bullpen arms were used on Sunday.

The San Francisco Giants don't have the same luxury. The Giants' bullpen owns a 4.88 xERA and 5.40 xFIP over the last week, while Landen Roupp rarely works deep into games.

Milwaukee's bullpen advantage should prove decisive. I'd play this pick up to -155.

COVERS INTEL: Milwaukee's bullpen has held opponents to a .245 BABIP over the last seven days.

Giants vs Brewers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-120)

My secondary lean is the Under. While the Giants exploded for 19 runs against Colorado on Sunday, that outburst heavily inflates their recent offensive numbers.

Milwaukee's pitching situation remains strong, with Drohan expected to cover the opening innings before handing the ball over to one of baseball's best bullpens.

Roupp has also held his own recently, posting a 2.71 FIP across his last two starts. With Milwaukee's elite relief corps entering rested and San Francisco's offensive form potentially overstated, this game could be lower-scoring than expected.

I'll play this to -130. 

Giants vs Brewers odds

• Moneyline: Giants +133  | Brewers -138
• Run line: Giants +1.5 (-163) | Brewers -1.5 (+156)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+108)  | Under 7.5 (-113)

Giants vs Brewers trend

The Giants have hit the team total Under in 26 of their last 40 away games (+10.15 Units / 22% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Giants vs. Brewers.

How to watch Giants vs Brewers and game info

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