With the calendar having flipped to June, MLB’s playoff races will only continue to gradually ramp up. And what’s also ramping up are the AL East’s chances of becoming the first division in MLB’s Divisional Era (since 1969) to finish a season with every team’s record above .500.

Several of those AL East teams will be put to the test in high-profile matchups this week, including the historic Red Sox-Yankees rivalry being renewed and a battle between the Majors’ run differential leaders.

Those matchups, and more, are included in our five series to watch during the week of June 5:

Astros (35-24) at Blue Jays (33-27)
4 games (Monday-Thursday)

Head to head: The Astros took two of three games against the Blue Jays in Houston from April 17-19. Last year, the Astros went 2-4 against Toronto -- tied for their worst record (by win percentage) against any team in their World Series-winning season.

Storyline: Have the Astros turned it around for good? The reigning World Series champions had an underwhelming start to 2023, entering their prior series against Toronto with a 7-9 record. But ever since winning that series, Houston has taken off, as its 28-15 record since April 17 is tied for second-best in MLB, one game behind the Rangers.

Watch out for: George Springer. Springer reached three AL All-Star teams, won two Silver Slugger Awards and was a World Series champion with the Astros from 2014-20 before signing with the Blue Jays in 2021. He was 0-for-11 in April’s series in Houston, but last season, he had three home runs in five games against the Astros.

Mets (30-30) at Braves (35-24)
3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)

Head to head: The Mets lost two of three to the Braves in New York from April 28-May 1. Last season, the Mets went 9-10 against Atlanta, including a three-game sweep by the Braves late in the season that gave Atlanta the head-to-head tiebreaker that determined the division winner.

Storyline: Will the Mets put up a fight in the NL East race? These were two of MLB’s four 100-win teams last year, with Atlanta’s head-to-head edge providing the only gap between the pair of 101-61 clubs. But the Mets have fallen far off of that pace this year, putting them in catch-up mode from here on out.

Watch out for: Bryce Elder. Elder had a dominant month of May, allowing a mere 1.72 ERA across his six starts. Elder has never started a game against the Mets in his career, but he is projected to start on Tuesday.

Orioles (37-22) at Brewers (32-27)
3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)

Head to head: These teams last played in April 2022, when the Brewers took two out of three games in Baltimore.

Storyline: Are the Orioles this good? Baltimore had lost at least 108 games in each of the last three full 162-game seasons entering 2022, but its 83-79 record last season represented a major step forward. For most of MLB history, teams to make a single-season leap like that have regressed the next year, but the Orioles have done anything but.

Watch out for: Yennier Cano. When is a middle reliever suddenly worth writing headlines about? When that player leads MLB (min. 30 innings pitched) in ERA (0.87), WHIP (0.61) and walks allowed per nine innings (0.58).

Rangers (38-20) at Rays (42-19)
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head to head: These teams have not faced off yet in 2023. The Rays went 4-3 against the Rangers in 2022, including winning two of three in St. Petersburg.

Storyline: The best offenses in the game go at it. These are MLB’s top two teams in both runs scored per game and run differential. In the latter metric, Texas (+152) and Tampa Bay (+122) are the only teams at +65 or better. For the Rangers specifically, their 6.48 runs/game are the most by any team since the 1950 Red Sox (6.67).

Watch out for: Nathan Eovaldi. In an era of conservation of pitchers, Eovaldi has been an exception recently. He has thrown at least eight innings in four of his past seven starts, unsurprisingly earning AL Pitcher of the Month honors in May. Eovaldi is projected to start on Saturday.

Red Sox (30-29) at Yankees (36-25)
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head to head: These teams have not faced off yet in 2023. The Yankees went 13-6 against the Red Sox in 2022, representing their most wins against any opponent last season.

Storyline: The rivalry that needs no introduction is back. And, partially thanks to the modified schedule this year, which results in fewer divisional games, it’s back later than ever. The first game of this series will take place on June 9. Excluding the shortened 2020 season, which didn’t begin until July, that’s the latest into a year that the first BOS-NYY matchup will be since July 1, 1996.

Watch out for: Aaron Judge. Even for his lofty standards, the reigning AL MVP is on a tear lately. Since returning on May 9 from an IL stint due to a hip injury, Judge leads MLB with 13 home runs, an .855 slugging percentage and a 1.313 OPS (min. 50 PA for the rate stats).