There are two weeks left on the schedule, and for much of the league, it's now or never. 

This penultimate week of the regular season will feature several potential postseason previews, a World Series rematch with implications for both Wild Card races and a series that might just settle the AL Central. 

Here are five high-stakes matchups to have your eye on for the week of Sept. 14.

White Sox at Guardians
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: The tiebreaker is very much up for grabs -- the White Sox currently lead the season series, six games to four, with these final three left to play. 

Storyline: The White Sox are flagging (4-10 in their last 14) and the AL Central is ready to flip, but can the Guardians actually seal the deal? They aren't exactly cruising (they're 8-6 in their last 14), but they've capitalized enough on Chicago's current slide and now sit a half-game out of first place heading into this final meeting of the regular season. This series could be what ultimately settles the division, whether it's outright or via the tiebreaker between them. 

Watch out for: Offense remains a bit of a sore subject in Cleveland, but Travis Bazzana is supplying as much of it as he can of late -- since Sept. 4, he's gone 12-for-26 (.462) with two doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs.

Braves at Cubs
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: The Braves took two of three from the Cubs at home back in May. The season series between these two teams likely won't be of much consequence overall, but maybe it's more about the principle of the thing -- the Cubs, who won last year's season series (4-2), haven't posted consecutive winning records against the Braves in 26 years (1998-2000). 

Storyline: Division-wise, the Braves are sitting pretty after taking two of three from the Phillies over the weekend, building up a five-game lead that, with 12 games left on the schedule and no head-to-head matchups remaining, is likely to be enough. The Cubs, on the other hand, are very much still scoreboard-watching, being as they are tied with the Phillies atop the Wild Card standings with a slim lead over the Padres. Given the likelihood that the Braves will finish with the worst record among NL division winners, what happens in the Wild Card race remains a going concern, but either way, this could be a postseason preview. 

Watch out for: Currently, there's nothing quite like Rockies pitching to get the ball rolling -- just ask Ronald Acuña Jr. Since the Braves' Aug. 28 series opener against Colorado (15 games), the former MVP is hitting .403 with five doubles, four homers and 12 RBIs.

Blue Jays at Rangers
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The Rangers swept the first matchup in Toronto, a four-game set from June 25-28. But that was a very different Blue Jays team they faced, and those games were close -- three of the four were decided by one run and the fourth was decided by three. 

Storyline: On the bubble of the AL Wild Card race, everyone's fate is very much intertwined. While the Guardians continue to focus on their division, they do at least hold the third Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays are a game behind them, and the Rangers are a game behind the Blue Jays. Assuming things are still tight come Friday, this is an opportunity for one of these teams to dispatch at least one major source of stress heading into the final week of the season. 

Watch out for: The Blue Jays' rookie third baseman, Kazuma Okamoto, is on some kind of tear of late -- he's homered four times in his last six games, bringing him up to 31 on the season.

Red Sox at Rays
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The season series is currently knotted up at five games apiece; the Rays won five of their first six before the Red Sox swept their most recent four-game series from July 17-19 as part of their season-defining 15-game win streak. 

Storyline: Boston's tiebreaker against Tampa Bay isn't really of any concern anymore, and both are virtual locks for the postseason, with the Red Sox a full six games up on the Guardians for that second Wild Card spot. But both still need to hold the ball. The Yankees, four games back of the Rays and 4 1/2 up on the Red Sox, remain a potential threat in both directions -- the Red Sox would certainly love to host this year's Wild Card Series after dropping one in New York in 2025, and the Rays would obviously prefer to win the division they've dominated for most of this season. Either way, there's a catch -- so long as the Yankees win their own weekend series in Arizona (more on that shortly), they stand to gain from any possible outcome. 

Watch out for: The Rays' Victor Mesa Jr. came off the injured list on Sept. 1 with a three-hit game and just kept going -- in 12 games this month, he's currently hitting an astonishing .450 with three doubles, a triple and three home runs.

Yankees at D-backs
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: There's limited shared history here; after the D-backs won their first ever meeting in the 2001 World Series, the Yankees have gone 18-13 against them. 

Storyline: For different reasons, one could consider these must-win games for either team, but it's undeniable that they matter much more to the D-backs, who've fought hard to stay in the playoff race despite not counting themselves among the many NL powerhouses. Through Sunday's action, Arizona was 2 1/2 games back of San Diego for the third Wild Card, and while the D-backs are dealing with the AL's second-best record in the Yankees, the Padres will be hosting the Marlins -- hardly an even playing field, even if it is just for one weekend. In terms of run production, the D-backs compare quite well to the Yankees, but while the Yankees lead all of baseball with a 3.24 team ERA, the D-backs lean closer to league average at 4.09 (12th). A tough challenge ahead, but it's more than doable. 

Watch out for: Aaron Judge is finally back, but after three months off, he's still getting his bearings. His co-outfielders -- usually Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones -- are picking up all the slack. The pair are hitting a collective .369/.407/.583 in September; Bellinger, for his part, has three home runs and 10 RBIs, while Jones has one home run and nine RBIs.