It was a largely inconsequential game played in front of the smallest crowd at Fenway Park since early June. But Trevor Story still made sure to take a few seconds when he stepped on the field Tuesday night to appreciate the moment.
The Red Sox shortstop had not played in a major league game all season, right elbow surgery having placed his career on what seemed like a permanent hold at times.
That made these particular nine innings something memorable, especially with his wife and two children watching from the stands.
“An emotional day all around,” Story said.
The highlight proved to be the loud reaction of the fans when he came to the plate in the first inning as Story didn’t reach base in a 9-3 loss against the Kansas City Royals.
“It’s the big leagues. For how much we want him to click right away, it’s not that easy,” Sox manager Alex Cora said. “This is how it works.”
Story was 0 for 4 and struck out swinging three times. He swung and missed at eight of the 15 pitches he saw and made contact three times, fouling off two pitches and grounding to shortstop in the sixth inning.
“Still working on some timing stuff,” Story said. “Still just trying to be consistent.”
Story was not challenged defensively until the seventh inning. With the infield in, he made a diving stop on a ground ball by Bobby Witt Jr., scrambled up and made an accurate throw to first base from one knee to get a speedy runner.
“That felt really good,” Story said. “Wasn’t thinking about anything. Just playing ball.”
Story had not played shortstop in a major league game since 2021 when he was with the Rockies, having spent all of last season at second base.
“He moves there. It’s impressive,” Cora said. “That part, he’ll be fine. Now it’s just about getting at-bats.”
For the immediate future, Story will play shortstop every other day and perhaps get at-bats as the designated hitter in between.
Story also got a taste of how maddeningly inconsistent this season has been for the Red Sox.
A day after a walkoff grand slam by Pablo Reyes, the Sox were humbled by one of the worst teams in baseball.
Four pitchers allowed 15 hits — seven for extra bases — against a lineup that has struggled to score all season. The Royals also stole six bases in as many attempts.
The 58-55 Sox have lost 8 of 10 and fell back into last place in the division.
Kutter Crawford, a reliable member of the rotation since early June, allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks over 3⅓ innings. It was Crawford’s shortest start since June 7 when he was still building up innings after being in the bullpen.
Crawford struck out four of the first six batters he faced. Matt Beaty then doubled with one out in the second inning, took third on a single by Drew Waters, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Isbel.
Crawford stranded two runners in the third inning before Beaty led off the fourth with a double and Waters followed with a homer to right field.
After two more Royals reached, Crawford was done after 78 pitches.
“There were balls that stayed over the heart of the plate and they didn’t miss those tonight,” Crawford said.
Down 3-0, the Sox got the crowd into the game in the fifth inning as they finally got to Kansas City starter Brady Singer.
Adam Duvall led off with a home run to left field that cleared everything. Alex Verdugo doubled to left, his sinking liner slipping past Isbel. Connor Wong’s single cut the deficit to 3-2.
Dinelson Lamet, a 31-year-old righthander, made his Red Sox debut in the fifth inning. It did not take long for Lamet to demonstrate why the Rockies released him in June.
Lamet avoided damage in his first inning then allowed three runs on three hits in the sixth, two coming on a home run by M.J. Melendez as the crowd of 30,997 booed.
Rookie righthander Nick Robertson, one of the pitchers obtained from the Dodgers for Kiké Hernández, gave up three runs in the seventh as Michael Massey had a two-run homer to give Kansas City a 9-2 lead.
Singer left the game with two outs in the seventh inning and a runner on first. Jarren Duran snapped an 0-for-14 skid with an RBI double off the wall.
Singer (8-8) allowed three runs on five hits. He is 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA in his last eight starts.
It’s likely not in time to change the course of this season, but having Story back on the field was heartening to his teammates.
“It was awesome,” Crawford said. “It wasn’t the greatest night for him. But him being on the field was a big step. He brings a great presence to the lineup and the clubhouse.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him @PeteAbe.