NEW YORK — For most of the past decade, Michael Wacha has been a dependable MLB pitcher.

But against Aaron Judge, the Royals right-hander has been at another level.

Judge, the AL MVP favorite, enters the Yankees‘ ALDS matchup with Kansas City just 1 for 18 with 11 strikeouts and three walks in his career against Wacha, the Royals’ Game 1 starter.

That equals a .056 average, Judge’s lowest against any pitcher he’s faced at least 17 times.

“He’s a great pitcher,” Judge said. “He’s got five or six different pitches he can throw. He’s got good feel for his fastball, change-up. Works that cutter to both sides of the plate, and he comes after you, man. He’s a tough at-bat, but definitely a fun one.”

Equipped with a putaway changeup and a 93.6-mph fastball, Wacha went 13-8 with a 3.35 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 166 2/3 innings this season, his first with Kansas City. The veteran owns a 101-62 record and a 3.89 ERA in his career.

Wacha did not pitch against the Yankees this year but has faced Judge in nine games over his 12-year career, which included stints with the Cardinals, Mets, Rays, Red Sox and Padres.

“He’s a guy that you definitely game plan for, and you have to make really quality pitches to a guy like that,” Wacha said Friday of Judge. “I don’t know if you up the focus against him or not, because I try to keep the same focus for everybody, but maybe just a little bit more aware of, ‘Hey, this is where I can miss,’ and different things like that.”

Judge went 1 for 3 against Wacha in their previous meeting in May 2023, breaking an 0-for-15 skid against the then-Padres right-hander. That hit was a single.

“I’ll chalk this up to [a] small sample, and I’ll take Aaron Judge against just about anyone on any day,” manager Aaron Boone said Thursday. “But we know Wacha’s a tough customer. He’s always pitched us tough. We know we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Judge, 32, led the majors with 58 home runs, 144 RBIs, 133 walks, a .458 on-base percentage, a .701 slugging percentage and a 1.159 OPS this season. His .322 average ranked third.

He looks to carry that gaudy production into Saturday night’s series opener against the Royals — and Wacha.

“I look at this matchup coming up like it’s a different game, and now it’s just one game at the time,” hitting coach James Rowson said of Judge vs. Wacha. “There’s something about having a track record, and then there’s staying in the present, staying in the moment that’s coming to us, and I know Judgey’s going to be in the moment.”

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