NEW YORK — The results were never going to be the most important part of Aaron Judge’s return to the Yankees.

Just having the three-time American League MVP back in the lineup after a three-month stint on the injured list for a broken rib made Tuesday night a rousing success for the Yankees.

So while Judge went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies in the Bronx, there were plenty of positive takeaways.

Judge started in right field and batted third before exiting after six innings — part of the Yankees’ plan to cautiously build up the slugger’s workload after he forewent a minor league rehab assignment.

His evening started with a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 46,211, followed by a five-pitch strikeout against Rockies right-hander Gabriel Hughes. Judge fouled off two sliders before swinging through a 93-mph fastball.

Judge’s second at-bat against Hughes was a bit more eventful, as he lifted a 350-foot drive to right-center that resulted in a fourth-inning flyout. That swing produced an exit velocity of 95.1 mph.

And in the sixth inning, Judge struck out on six pitches against left-handed reliever Mark Manfredi. Judge didn’t swing once in that at-bat.

Perhaps more importantly, Judge’s first at-bat ended with a 79.6-mph swing, while his second at-bat ended with a 78.3-mph swing.

Both of those were fast swings — MLB’s Statcast considers anything over 75 mph as such — and were speedier than Judge’s season average of 76.1 mph.

Judge didn’t get any defensive opportunities during his six innings in right field, largely because Yankees ace Cam Schlittler struck out 10 over his seven innings of one-run ball.

Heliot Ramos replaced Judge in right field to begin the seventh inning.

Tuesday’s series opener marked Judge’s first appearance since May 31. The 34-year-old has traced the stress fracture in his right first rib to a dive he made in right field on April 26, though he continued to play through the injury for more than a month after that.

Judge came off of the 60-day IL on Monday night, hours after he went through a comprehensive workout at Yankee Stadium in which he faced live pitching for the first time since the injury and simulated multiple innings on defense.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone spent Monday’s off-day watching Judge check the final boxes in his rehab progression, then consulted with the slugger and members of the team’s brass before Judge’s activation.

During that workout, Judge’s swing looked “good, physical [and] strong,” Boone said before Tuesday’s win.

“Still working at it,” Boone said. “Obviously, he hasn’t had a lot of live at-bats. That’s the one thing, so he’ll work through it as good as anyone. …. I think it’s good that we’re getting him back now when we are, and we can build him up properly, but hopefully get him clicking as soon as possible.”

With Tuesday’s win, the Yankees improved to 37-23 (.612) with Judge in the lineup, compared to 45-39 (.536) without him.

Their offense averaged 4.1 runs per game and a .681 OPS without Judge — down from 5.2 runs per game and a .770 OPS before his absence.

The righty-swinging Judge is now hitting .244 with 17 home runs and a .895 OPS in 60 games this season.

“He’s the best hitter in the world, so that’s a big guy to take out of your lineup,” Boone said.

“We’re very left-handed, and have been much of the year. How many days a week are we getting a lefty in the fifth inning, in the seventh inning, in the ninth inning? And they’re matching up against us, and they don’t have to roll through Aaron Judge that’s surrounding those lefties. There’s a protection element there.”

The Yankees didn’t need much offense Tuesday, as Schlittler bolstered his AL Cy Young Award case with another dominant outing.

The 25-year-old right-hander surrendered just three hits — a solo homer by Adael Alexander accounted for the only damage — without issuing a walk. It was the fourth time this season that Schlitter has struck out at least 10.

Schlittler improved 13-6 with a 2.01 ERA and 220 innings in 178 2/3 innings.

His main competition in the AL Cy Young race is Toronto’s Dylan Cease, who is 10-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 161 1/3 innings.

Ryan McMahon’s fifth-inning RBI double broke a 1-1 tie, while Ramos’ three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth padded the Yankees’ lead.

The win clinched a 34th consecutive winning season for the Yankees (82-62).

Chisholm exits

Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited in the ninth inning after throwing out Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy on a bang-bang play at first base.

It wasn’t immediately clear why.

José Caballero replaced Chisholm at second base.

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