Aaron Judge returned to the New York Yankees after missing 99 days with a broken rib.

He started in right field and batted third on Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge would not play the whole game.

He would likely have one day off during the series.

Judge had missed 84 games since his last game on May 31.

He tried to convince Boone to let him play after centerfielder Trent Grisham hurt his hamstring on Friday night.

Boone said no, explaining there were final checks they wanted Judge to complete.

Judge practiced hitting on Monday and was added to the team that night.

This came after talks with Boone, the training staff, general manager Brian Cashman, and owner Hal Steinbrenner.

Judge got hurt on April 26 while trying to make a diving catch in Houston.

He batted .263 with seven home runs in 31 games before going on the injured list.

The Yankees went 45-39 without him.

Their batting average during that time ranked 29th out of 30 major league teams.

Boone said the team stayed strong but had periods of real trouble with hitting.

New York entered the game with an 81-62 record.

They were four games behind AL East leader Tampa Bay and two games ahead of Boston for the top wild card spot.

Judge hit a career-best .331 with 53 home runs last year, winning his third MVP award.

Separately, reliever Fernando Cruz chose not to have Tommy John surgery after a partial elbow ligament tear.

Left-hander Ryan Weathers kept recovering from a forearm strain.