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Blue Jays: Five key matchups to watch out for in May
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Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Veronica Chung
May 1, 2025, 09:26 EDT
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Deep into spring, the Blue Jays have been off to a rocky start with a 14-16 record. It was a tougher schedule than what some other teams had to contend with this past month, but the Jays had some games where they just couldn’t figure it out in the batter’s box.
The month of May isn’t exactly projected to be an easy schedule for the team either, with many wanna-be-contenders in the mix to secure their division leads or early Wild Card spots. With more competitive teams on the docket, the Blue Jays will have to come out with more wins to prove themselves as a strong contender again. 
With that, below are five key matchups to keep an eye on for this month: 

Toronto Blue Jays at Seattle Mariners (May 9-11)

The Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners have been age-old foes, especially after facing each other in the 2022 AL Wild Card series that ended in a heartbreak for Toronto.
This year, the Mariners were able to effectively turn their season around after taking a convincing series win in April at Rogers Centre on the back of Rowdy Tellez’s bat and their starting pitching. This month, the Blue Jays will visit the Mariners at T-Mobile Park and will likely fill at least half of the stadium with enthusiastic Blue Jays fans. The recent bad blood between these two teams will be interesting to watch, but most of all, Toronto will have to win the series to bank more on its win column while getting the revenge. 

Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays (May 13-15) & Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays (May 23-25)

The Blue Jays have yet to face the Tampa Bay Rays this year, and this will be a key series that determines how well Toronto performs against its division rivals.
So far, the Blue Jays are ahead against the Red Sox (4-2), tied with the Orioles (3-3), and losing to the Yankees (1-2) in terms of division rival matchups — it will be imperative for the Canadian team to secure at least one series win against Tampa Bay.
Currently, the Rays rank in third place in the AL East while the Blue Jays occupy the fourth spot. If Toronto wants any shot at making the playoffs, it will have to find ways to outperform the third-place team.
The Blue Jays will host the Rays first in Toronto but will also travel to the Steinbrenner Park, which is normally the Yankees’ minor league park, but the Rays are playing there while the roof of Tropicana Field gets fixed. The minor league park dimension alone should make this rivalry gripping, among many things and just playing away from a ballpark that has haunted the Jays over the years.

Detroit Tigers at Toronto Blue Jays (May 16-18)

While the Detroit Tigers and the Blue Jays may no longer be division rivals, there’s a remnant of bitter animosity between the two teams.
Between 1983 to 1993, both teams remained competitive, with the Tigers winning one World Series and the Blue Jays winning two. There was also a period in 1987 when Toronto allowed Detroit to take the AL East division title after their seven-game losing streak.
Fast forward to 2025, the Tigers are a much more competitive team full of young talents from top to bottom of the roster. It’s easy to argue that Detroit is a better team compared to Toronto based on the win-loss record alone, led by 2024 Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. In other words, the Blue Jays will have a tough task of facing a strong former division rival and proving their worth as a contender. The Tigers currently lead the AL Central division — the Blue Jays have their shot at toppling the emerging contender’s confidence if they manage to win a series.

Toronto Blue Jays at Texas Rangers (May 26-28)

The enmity between the Texas Rangers and the Blue Jays doesn’t need an explanation.
The two teams faced off in the 2015 AL Division Series, and this included a legendary moment when José Bautista showcased his iconic bat flip to the world after hitting a lead-changing three-run home run. Then, Rangers player Rougned Odor also famously threw a punch at Bautista a year later, signifying the intense rivalry between the two.
Since then, these two teams still have a lot of baggage to bring to the table, even if the clubs don’t boast the same players anymore. The Rangers have been the better team for the past couple of seasons as they successfully claimed the 2023 World Series, but the Blue Jays have a chance to assert their dominance over the Arlington-based team.
Texas is scuffling at the moment as its ranking has fallen to fourth in the AL West, which indicates that May could be the most ideal time for Toronto to take advantage of the Rangers’ soul-searching period. Once an enemy is always an enemy—winning a series against Texas on its home turf will be sweet for Toronto.

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