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By Tyler Erzberger
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Aaron Judge is arguably one of the best hitters in baseball history.
The back-to-back American League MVP is the captain of the United States of America at the World Baseball Classic, and he began his stint in the 2026 tournament with a towering home run in the first inning against Brazil.
But that's not the story of the evening.
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After Brazil scored one in the bottom of the first to make it 1-2 with the Americans leading, Team USA stacked the bases full in the top of the second inning with Judge coming up to look to mirror what Shohei Ohtani did yesterday.
In his second at-bat in the second inning on Friday in Tokyo, Ohtani blasted a grand slam into the seats and showed the world why he is one of MLB's main characters alongside Judge.
The Yankees star wanted to do the same, and his opponent was a 17-year-old higher schooler, Joseph Contreras.
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Son of former All-Star and White Sox pitcher José Contreras, Joseph is the youngest competitor in the World Baseball Classic.
The youngster plays high school out in Georgia and decided to represent Brazil in the tournament, and he was thrown into the action in the second inning against one of the deepest lineups the WBC has ever seen.
The kid showed off his flamethrower arm, topping out at 98 MPH with his fastball and then throwing a deceptive breaking ball that had Team USA on their back foot during his outing.
Although he got in trouble with one out and the bases loaded, he didn't wilt facing Judge, the best player he's ever pitched against. He went right after the AL MVP, even with the bases loaded, trying his best not to give up a single run.
And finally, after a battle, the 17-year-old won the fight, watching as Judge's bat broke and set up a perfect double play ball to get Brazil out of the inning scoreless.
Although the Brazilian pitcher won the duel this time, if he continues on this trajectory, it won't be the last time he and Judge face off on the baseball diamond.
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