Opening Day is less than a week away, and the Blue Jays are turning over a new leaf with this upcoming campaign.

The start of the year won’t be the easiest for Toronto, but this provides plenty of interesting matchups to watch. Out of eight series in April, here are three matchups that could determine the Blue Jays’ trajectory early on.

This matchup needs no introduction. The Dodgers and Blue Jays faced each other in last year’s World Series, only for the Blue Jays to experience the ultimate heartbreak when the Dodgers won Game 7.

Both teams made the World Series because they had a talented, balanced lineup. Toronto had a versatile offence that attacked teams in different ways without striking out, and the Dodgers were powered by stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and more. The Dodgers clearly had the edge in pitching, especially in starting pitching, which impacted how Game 7 of the World Series played out.

But it’s also important to remember that these teams already played against each other in a three-game series during the regular season last year. The Blue Jays barely escaped a sweep in Los Angeles this series, which foreshadowed how the World Series would play out.

This is potentially the key matchup that sets the tone for the Blue Jays. Winning this series will prove that Toronto can defeat the Dodgers – it will also become a confidence booster for the rest of the season. The path to victory in this series won’t be easy, but win this – the world is the Blue Jays’ oyster.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ specialty is exceeding expectations despite the cynicism around the team. As a small-budget team, the Brewers haven’t been known for signing or keeping any star players. In fact, they mostly trade their stars or let them walk in free agency.

However, the Brewers have developed strong pitching talent for many years, which has been a crucial foundation for their continued success in their division. They even overpowered the Cubs to win the division last year. Another important factor that helped the team perform well last season was its contact-heavy offensive approach. The Brewers lacked power, but their lower strikeout rate was a major difference maker that gave the team the edge against their opponents.

The Blue Jays and Brewers’ offence were very similar in many ways last year, but the advantage went to the Brewers in last year’s series because they had impeccable pitching up and down their roster. Fortunately, Milwaukee parted with some of its better pitchers, like Tobias Myers and Freddy Peralta, giving Toronto a shot to get the revenge for their series loss from last season.

The fate of this series will depend on which version of the Brewers the Blue Jays will face. If somehow Milwaukee comes back stronger with more rookie star pitchers on their roster, then the Blue Jays are in real trouble.

The Red Sox are a whole new team this year, with rising stars like Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela. They also revamped their starting pitching by bringing Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo and Ranger Suárez this offseason. After getting eliminated in the Wild Card series last year, Boston will aim to get deeper into the playoffs this time.

Because of their aspirations and level of talent, the Red Sox are one of the stronger rivals the Blue Jays can’t afford to overlook. It also doesn’t help that many Red Sox players have outdone themselves in the World Baseball Classic this month. Roman Anthony became the youngest player to hit a home run for Team USA, Jarren Duran homered twice and had one key outfield assist, and Wilyer Abreu played a key role in getting Team Venezuela to the championship stage.

If Boston can translate the WBC success to the 2026 season, the Blue Jays are in for one of the toughest matchups in April. Toronto was clearly the better team in 2025 with an 8-5 record against Boston. This year’s record may come down to one game difference this season, and the worst-case scenario would be the Red Sox completely dominating the Blue Jays from the jump.

Losing this series could hurt the Blue Jays’ status as the reigning AL champions while giving the Red Sox an opening to eye the AL East title and possibly more down the road. There will be a chance for the Blue Jays to plot their comeback against the Red Sox if they can’t secure the series win in April, but winning this would establish the division dynamics in Toronto’s favour.

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