Delay means Judge is in, Betts is out

NEW YORK — Afternoon showers in the Bronx were just what Aaron Judge needed to get back into the Yankees’ lineup.

For Red Sox star Mookie Betts, it was just the opposite.

Judge was set to play and Betts to sit out when the Yankees and Red Sox opened a three-game series Tuesday night. The game was pushed back six hours because of rain in the forecast.

The delay allowed Judge to break into manager Aaron Boone’s lineup for the first time since breaking his right wrist on July 26. Boone slotted Judge to bat second and play right field, but only because the late start gave him and the front office a few extra hours to evaluate Judge.

“We want to start that clock of getting in there and playing and getting him those ABs,” Boone said. “So he can find that timing sooner rather than later. Physically he’s good to go.”

Manager Alex Cora wrote Betts in as his center fielder as of 9 a.m., even after the AL MVP contender injured his left side Sunday. But then the conditions turned soggy.

“He’s doing OK,” Cora said. “The weather kind of pushed me to not play him.”

The Red Sox led the Yankees by 111⁄2 games in the AL East entering Tuesday. Cora can choose to be cautious with Betts because the Red Sox have by far baseball’s best record, but Betts prefers consistent at-bats to stay sharp. He’s also making a push for his first MVP award with an AL-best .337 batting average, 29 home runs and 72 RBIs.

“I know he’s close to doing a few things that are very special in this game,” Cora said. “But like I’ve been saying, he’s a small guy, not as big as some other ones, and we need him to be close to 100 percent.”