PITTSBURGH -- When the Cardinals signed up for Nolan Arenado, instances like Sunday were why.

Nursing a two-run lead, Arenado, shifted towards second base on the infield grass, dove to his right to collect a seeing-eye grounder from Pirates utility man Wilmer Difo. From his right knee, the eight-time Gold Glover fired a 60.4 mph ball up to three-time Gold Glove Award winner Paul Goldschmidt. Almost as impressive as Arenado's snag and throw was Goldschmidt going full extension to collect the ball and just beat out a speedy Difo.

But what it represented in mass? Arguably the best play in Arenado's Cardinals tenure to date.

Zooming out even further, it was a pick-me-up on an otherwise brutal day for the Cardinals, who fell to Pittsburgh, 4-3, via a walk-off homer. The day had plenty of defensive highlights, along with Harrison Bader making his ninth four-star catch of the season, per Statcast -- the most in the Majors -- but ended in heartbreak.

"Our defense is the best in the league," said Cardinals starter Kwang Hyun Kim, who was on the mound for Bader's sensational catch in the third, forced to simply raise his arms in amazement. "It's an honor for me and it was really enjoyable to be a member of that."

But Arenado's play stole the day's highlight reel. Difo was sprinting 30.1 feet per second up the first-base line, considered elite among MLB metrics. Then he met the might of Arenado -- and St. Louis did as well, more than it has ever before.