New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox doesn't need any introduction or any additional hype.
But it doesn't hurt.
And the biggest subplot to Game 1 of this brilliantly poised AL Wild Card series between supreme rivals is one that's worth digging into.
It's the matchup between Red Sox lefty ace pitcher Garrett Crochet and Yankees 6-foot-7 superstar slugger Aaron Judge.
Power vs. Power.
Otherworldly ability vs. Otherworldly ability.
Grab the popcorn and enjoy.
MORE: The Joe DiMaggio reason Cal Raleigh should be the AL MVP
Crochet faced the Yankees four times this year, and Boston won all four of those games.
His key stats in those contests, via MLB.com: 0.88 WHIP and 39 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.
And against Judge, Crochet had a seriously intriguing time.
Judge has taken Crochet deep twice.
But in 15 at bats against the lefty, Judge has also struck out 11 times.
MORE: Guardians complete unprecedentedly impossible MLB history
Whichever of the superstars wins the clash in Game 1 has a great chance to set a massive tone for the short, best-of-three series.
There's no time to waste, and the Crochet vs. Judge duel is primed to be as good as it gets in sports.
More MLB News:
- Aaron Judge is in rare air with Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds
- Cal Raleigh officially resides with Babe Ruth in history books
- Julio Rodriguez made his choice to opt out of the All-Star Game look brilliant
- Shohei Ohtani is MLB's first member of a very specific 55-HR club
- Mets' epic collapse summed up by 0-67 stat
- Logan Webb makes Giants history not done since 1944