KC Royals’ Michael Wacha ready for must-win Game 4 start against New York Yankees

Michael Wacha has a huge responsibility on Thursday.

He will be the Kansas City Royals’ starting pitcher for Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees at Kauffman Stadium.

The stakes couldn’t be much higher.

The Royals are facing elimination at home after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss. Two wins, however — one at home, and one in New York Saturday — and they’d return to the American League Championship Series for the first time since the club won the World Series in 2015.

“I just want to go out there and win the ballgame,” Wacha said before Wednesday’s Game 3. “Whether it’s a clinching game or it’s an elimination game, it’s a must-win in my mind either way.”

Wacha has the benefit of having faced the Yankees one already in this series. In Game 1, Wacha allowed three earned runs in four innings. He issued three walks and struck out three in 70 pitches.

The Yankees did damage in the third inning that day. New York second baseman Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer off Wacha to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. Wacha left a 93-mph sinker in the middle of the plate and Torres didn’t miss it.

“It was a mistake to Gleyber there,” Wacha said after Game 1. “Too good of a pitch to hit.”

Wacha has been focused on his efficiency since that start. He wants to limit his walks and is determined to stay inside the strike zone in Game 4.

The Yankees tend to be aggressive early in counts. Wacha relied on his changeup, sinker and four-seam fastball a lot during his Game 1 appearance but said his cutter will also be important Thursday as he works to command both sides of the plate.

Wacha threw 16 cutters to the Yankees’ hitters in Game 1. The pitch registered four swings and one whiff. He’ll be looking to expand on that recent success in Game 4.

“It’s a tough lineup that you’ve got to mix your pitches,” he said. “You’ve got to work the corners on them. You can’t leave much over the plate against these guys. Being able to work those corners, strike to ball, ball to strike, is definitely important to set up other pitches.”

That comes from a place of experience. Wacha has good numbers against Yankees star Aaron Judge. He has limited the AL MVP frontrunner to a batting average of .056 average (1-for-18) and 11 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Torres is hitting .063 against Wacha and Giancarlo Stanton .235 in 17 at-bats. Wacha went 13-8 with a 3.35 ERA during the regular season, limiting opponents to a .246 average.

“He’s an unbelievable player,” Wacha said of Judge. “He can do damage. He hits for average and drives in a lot of guys whenever they’re on base. You’ve just got to make quality pitches just like to everyone else in that lineup.”

The Yankees will start their ace, Gerrit Cole, in Thursday’s Game 4. He allowed four runs (three earned) in five innings against the Royals on Saturday.

Wacha knows this pitching rematch of Game 1 holds additional weight in a truly must-win game. But he didn’t sound like he was fazed by the challenge Wednesday.

“I want to go out there and give our guys a chance to win a ballgame, just like any other start throughout the season,” he said. “And this one is no different. I want to get out there, hopefully go deep and give our guys a chance to win a ballgame.”