If Aaron Judge is the New York Yankees’ Superman, the Kansas City Royals may believe that they have his kryptonite in Michael Wacha, their Game 1 starter in the American League Division Series.

Judge has just one hit (a single) in 18 career at-bats (.056) vs. Wacha, a righty veteran. It’s Judge’s lowest career batting average vs. any pitcher he’s faced at least that many times.

Over that span, Judge has nabbed three walks but has also recorded 11 strikeouts. His only hit against Wacha came last season when Wacha was pitching for the San Diego Padres in a game at Yankee Stadium. Judge crushed a 114.1 mph line drive to left field in a 2-1 count on a 91-mph fastball left dangling over the heart of the plate.

What’s the deal with Wacha getting the better of Judge to date?

The Yankees don’t see it as that big of a problem.

“I’ll chalk this up to small sample and I’ll take Aaron Judge against just about anyone on any day,” manager Aaron Boone said.

“He’s a good pitcher, right?” hitting coach James Rowson said. “He can mix it up. He’s got experience.”

Aaron Boone on the Royals. pic.twitter.com/eu8GC3Wot8

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 3, 2024

If the Yankees hope to reach their first World Series since 2009, they’re going to need a lot of help from Judge, who will likely run away with this year’s American League MVP award. He led the league in home runs (58), RBI (144), walks (133), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.701) and OPS (1.159). And he did it all while playing out of position in center field and leading a Yankees clubhouse in his second season as team captain.

Meanwhile, Wacha, 33, had another strong season. In 29 starts, he went 13-8 with a 3.35 ERA.

He didn’t face Judge this season, but Wacha surely knows he’s had Judge’s number.

“Probably luck,” Wacha said, laughing, according to a report from The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner in 2022. “I know he’s hit some balls hard off of me. He doesn’t have much to show for that.”

Wacha wasn’t wrong.

Of Judge’s 10 batted balls against Wacha, three of them have gone for more than 100 mph, including a 118.6 mph grounder that resulted in a double play. Judge has an average exit velocity of 94.5 mph against Wacha, just below his career average of 95.7 mph.

Wacha’s attack features one of the best changeups in the game. This season, it’s accounted for 32.2 percent of his pitches — more than any of the other five pitches he throws. Opponents had just a .169 average and a 34.1 percent whiff rate against his changeup. Judge, conversely, faced changeups 10.5 percent of the time and he had only a .229 average against them.(he still slugged .625 against the pitch).

Michael Wacha, Filthy 83mph Changeup. 😷 pic.twitter.com/lOP7rI39zR

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 24, 2024

Boone had high praise for Wacha.

“(He’s) a tough customer,” the manager said. “He’s always pitched us tough. We know we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Judge homered in five consecutive games before ending his regular season with a five-strikeout game against rookie Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game No. 161.

“I see him in a great spot,” Rowson said. “Anybody is going to have some tough days in this game, but I think this season speaks for itself. I think what he’s able to do this year is something that we haven’t seen from a right-handed hitter maybe in the history of the game in terms of what he’s been able to do. So I love where he’s at.”

And Rowson said he thinks Judge won’t take his past against Wacha into Saturday.

“I look at this matchup coming up like — it’s a different game,” the hitting coach said. “Now, it’s just one game at a time. There’s something to having a track record. Then there’s a statement of presence (and) staying in the moment that’s coming to us. I know that Judgey is going to be in the moment.”

(Photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)

The New York Yankees have not played since Sunday, giving many fans in the area a chance to turn the channel to their crosstown rivals.

And they’ve gotten quite a treat.

The New York Mets have had two miraculous wins this week, one in which they came back twice late to make the postseason and again Thursday, when Pete Alonso hit the first homer ever while a team was trailing in the ninth inning or later in a winner-take-all game in MLB history.

Despite the Yankees and Mets being rivals, there have been many Bronx Bombers fans who have, temporarily, been rooting for the Amazins this week.

Apparently, it bothered Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay.

“Is fandom different now? Why are you rooting for the Mets if you’re a Yankee fan? Are you out of your minds? Are you out of your minds?” Kay said on his radio show Friday afternoon. “Like you don’t have enough good things to root for in the Bronx. Now, you’re going to root for the Queens players? It doesn’t make sense. It’s bizarro land.

“It’s participation trophy era. ‘Oh, if the Mets win, it’s good for the city.’ Please stop!”

Kay then implored Yankees fans who have been rooting for the Mets to “grow up.”

Michael Kay during the 75th New York Yankees Old Timers Day Sept. 9, 2023, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

METS NAME SURPRISING PITCHER AS GAME 1 STARTER AFTER HE WAS THOUGHT TO MISS REST OF SEASON

“Every single one of you. Because being a fan means something. You can’t root for both,” he added. “And the ones that are, they’re not real Yankee fans. If they’re just reveling in the Mets having a great win, they’re not real fans.”

Kay also pointed to the fact that Mets fans seldom root for the Yankees. However, it should be noted that the 121-year-old Yankees are often looked at as the “big brother” since the Mets joined as an expansion team in 1962.

Pete Alonso of the New York Mets celebrates after hitting a home run in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during Game 3 of a wild-card series at American Family Field Oct. 3, 2024, in Milwaukee.  (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

This marks the first time the Yankees and Mets are both in a division series since 2006. They met in the World Series six years before that.

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Inglewood trailed Leuzinger by three with less than three minutes to go.

The Sentinels were once up 20, cruising in their Bay League opener between undefeated teams. But Leuzinger stormed back, using three Journee Tonga touchdowns to take a fourth-quarter lead.

Inglewood quarterback Kingston Tisdell would not, could not let that be the end of their undefeated run, he said.

“Inglewood, the energy is always there,” the senior said. “When we’re down, our hopes get a little down. But it takes — it takes leaders, to get your team back up, let them know that you know we’re still in this and we can make things happen.”

And lead he did. In the red zone, with 26 seconds left in the game, Tisdell dove into the end zone and roared. The Inglewood marching band — about 40 members strong — roared alongside their signal-caller, blasting music with their tubas and trumpets in victory as the Sentinels celebrated their 34-29 win Friday night.

“He’s a proven winner,” Inglewood coach Mil’Von James said of Tisdell. “He stayed the course, and what he did was he didn’t panic, he showed no flinch, and he let us in. Our quarterback led us to a victory.”

Tisdell completed 14 of 26 passes for 326 yards, tossing three touchdowns against the Olympians (5-1).

The Birmingham transfer showcased the glitz and glamour of the playbook for Inglewood (6-0) — with their red and green “City of Champions” uniforms to match — connecting with junior tight end Andre Nickerson on nearly identical first-quarter touchdown passes, the first for 55 yards and the second for 69.

The duo connected once more in the third quarter for a 16-yard touchdown to extend Inglewood’s lead to two scores.

“Our connection started in January, even before spring ball,” Tisdell said of his teammate. “He’s a great player and I know he’s gonna do big things for us this year.”

Leuzinger, on the other hand, couldn’t implement the same success it found in its upset victory over Santa Margarita a few weeks ago. But it came close. Tonga — who’d tallied 18 touchdowns and 196 yards per game entering the contest — rushed for less than 30 yards in the first half. But in the second half, he showed why he’s one of Southern California’s breakout performers.

He’s not imposing, standing at just 5 feet 8 and 170 pounds. But when Tonga’s in his No. 1 gray jersey and heading for the end zone, leaving defenders in the dust as he did Friday, his play speaks for itself. Tonga finished with 160 rushing yards and 88 receiving yards, leading the Olympians in all-purpose yardage.

As the final whistle blew, the passion of the back-and-forth contest led to a postgame scuffle. First-year Leuzinger coach Jason Miller and James still shook hands at midfield, as the latter remained complimentary of his new Bay League opposition.

“That was a good team,” James said. “They played well and did a good job running it. I’m [proud of] my kids for being resilient.”