It took a few hours, a smattering of strikeouts, and the departure of one dominant starter, but the gravitational force of Cardinals opening day eventually found newcomer Nolan Arenado.
It potential of the moment didn’t disappoint because neither did he.
In his first home game and first home opener as a Cardinal, Arenado upended a game dictated by the Milwaukee Brewers with a two-run homer in the eighth inning that sent him to his first curtain call and the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory. A crowd of 13,328 – the first fans to see the Cardinals play in person since October 2019 – gave Arenado a rousing ovation, and teammates pointed to the stairs for what’s become a signature of Busch Stadium: the curtain call.