Alex Verdugo felt a little cooked this season, so he hired a personal chef.

Revived by his new diet, Verdugo hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning and saved at least one run with a sliding catch along the left-field line to boost the Yankees over the Royals 6-5 on Saturday night in their AL Division Series opener.

He gave some of the credit to his nutrition.

“It’s made me feel a lot better, a lot more energized on a day-to-day basis and recovering a little bit better, less lethargic,” he said.

The Yankees won the first postseason game with five lead changes, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, behind Verdugo’s bat and glove.

In his first season since the Yankees acquired him from the Red Sox, the chatty 28-year-old outfielder with the mood lamp in his locker was hitting .266 on June 14 but went into a tailspin that coincided with the start of the Yankees’ 39-38 slide.

Verdugo batted .197 from then through August. The Yankees called up rookie outfielder Jasson Domínguez on Sept. 9 and Verdugo started just 11 more games. He finished with a .233 average — his lowest in a full season — along with 13 homers and 61 RBIs.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone wanted Verdugo in left field against the Royals, partly because of his superior defense.

“Just trusting that he’s going to be ready for the moment and his experience and his track record,” Boone said. “I know it’s been a little bit of an up-and-down tough second half for him offensively, but the guy is a good hitter.”

With the Yankees trailing 3-2, Verdugo made a sliding catch on Michael Massey’s fourth-inning fly just inside the line to strand two runners. The ball hit the heel of Verdugo’s glove and bounced off his chest before he grabbed it with his bare hand.

“Thank goodness it popped over to the left hand, so it all worked out,” he said at the postgame news conference, wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the name of his native Tucson and a diamond sparkling from each ear.

Ohtani has big debut: Shohei Ohtani rewrote the record book during his first season with the Dodgers. Now, he’s getting a chance to make more history in his highly anticipated playoff debut.

Ohtani hit a tying, three-run homer with two outs in the second to help the Dodgers win their NLDS opener Saturday night. The Dodgers went on to a 7-5 win over the Padres, a team they battled down to the wire before earning their 11th NL West title in 12 years.

“It’s been insane how good he’s been with runners in scoring position,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he does get those opportunities you feel like he’s going to cash them in.”

The Japanese superstar sent a 2-1 pitch from Dylan Cease into right field for a 372-foot shot that had the sellout crowd of 53,028 on its feet.

“I could really feel the intensity of the stadium before the game began and I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.

He finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs, two runs scored and two strikeouts.