Enrique Hernandez was back at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, and the crowd greeted him like it had been waiting months for the moment. The 34-year-old utility man played his first big-league game since Game 7 of the World Series, then delivered an RBI double in the bottom of the third inning as the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3.

The cheers came before his first at-bat against Colorado, the kind of reception usually reserved for players who have already become part of the building’s memory. Hernandez made good on it by driving in Hyeseong Kim with a double, then later reached on an infield single in his second at-bat before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. The crowd of 48,778 saw the same sort of useful, all-over-the-field game that has defined him for years, and this one arrived after a winter and spring that tested him more than most of his seasons have.

Hernandez signed a one-year, $4.5-million deal with the Dodgers in February after having surgery on his left elbow following last season. He said he spent two months on the injured list last year with the elbow problem, received seven injections in the joint, and was told by Dr. Neal ElAttrache that it was the worst injury of that kind he had ever seen. Hernandez said he could feel the pain every time he got into his batting stance, describing it as if he had a blowtorch on his elbow, and said it was frustrating because there was not much that could be done for it. He also missed spring training and opening day for the first time in his career.

The Dodgers did not just bring him back for one emotional night. Hernandez said he will split time between the infield and a little outfield, giving manager Dave Roberts a versatile option while the roster was adjusted to make room. Utility man Santiago Espinal was designated for assignment to open that spot. Hernandez’s return also carried the kind of personal weight that comes only after a player has gone through a loss and come back to the same place where it happened. He said he would have rather missed the World Baseball Classic and won a World Series than played in Puerto Rico after losing a World Series, and he added that, in his words, it was a fair trade.

For the Dodgers, the win was the immediate payoff. For Hernandez, it was something more specific: a return to the same field, the same fans and the same role, with enough health to play it again. After the elbow surgery, the injections and the lost spring, Monday night looked less like a comeback story than a reminder that he still fits this team exactly where it needs him.