KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was time for José Caballero’s first at-bat of the afternoon and he was nowhere to be found.

The Yankees had runners on the corners with two outs in the top of the second inning Monday with Caballero due up, except he was down below the dugout rummaging through bags, trying to find his helmet.

Eventually he found it, but not before being tagged with a pitch clock violation, meaning he stepped into the batter’s box facing an 0-1 count before seeing a single pitch.

Four pitches later, though, Caballero came through with an RBI single that a few hours later had his manager chuckling and shaking his head.

“Cabby and I have a love-hate [relationship],” Boone said after a 4-3 win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. “I think he was having a hard time finding his helmet, and it cost him a strike there. He’ll drive you nuts sometimes and then you want to give him a hug when he gets a base hit and drives in the [second] run.

“He’s our Cabby.”

Caballero, who does plenty to annoy opponents in the batter’s box and on the bases, smiled when apprised of Boone’s description of their relationship.

“I love that guy,” Caballero said. “He knows me and I’m wild. … He’s like, ‘There’s some moments I want to explode on you and sometimes I just want to hug you and give you some love.’ That’s just me, man, I’m just wild.”

After starting his first 41 games of the season at shortstop, Caballero was manning third base Monday, opening a spot for Anthony Volpe to get into the lineup and eventually play hero with a go-ahead two-run single in the ninth inning.

Despite not taking many, if any, reps at third base this year, Caballero described it as “like riding a bike,” and made a terrific play on a slow chopper to end the game with the tying run on base. He has said all along he just wants to be in the lineup and help the Yankees win, which he did again in the series opener.

But first came his delayed at-bat in the top of the second that he started from behind.

“[Boone] was just like, ‘Where’s Cabby?’” Caballero said. “I was like, ‘I’m trying to find a helmet, man!’ It was downstairs, but it was mixed in with the other helmets and I couldn’t find it, couldn’t see it.”

“There’s not much I can do at that point [down 0-1]. If I start thinking about that, I’m going to make the at-bat harder than it is. Every at-bat is hard, so try to keep it simple.”