Thunderous applause and roaring cheers followed Arenado throughout the day: When he first took the field on the back of a Ford-150 truck — a home opener tradition — and circled the field, when he was introduced before his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning and during each of his at-bats that followed.

A few hours before he connected on the three-run homer Monday night that sent him soaring into the regular season, Nolan Arenado sat in the dugout