Nolan Arenado’s heroics helped seal a win for the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday — but it nearly knocked the wind out of him. Literally. In the ninth inning of the Cardinals’ 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks, Arenado chased a foul pop-up off the bat of Ketel Marte and made a full-speed, tumbling catch into the netting near the third-base seats at Busch Stadium. It was a moment straight from a highlight reel — but instead of celebrating, Arenado was left on the ground, face down in pain and clutching his side.

“It was pretty bad, and I was having trouble breathing there for a little while, so that was pretty tough,” Arenado said postgame. “I’ve never really felt that [kind of pain] before, and that was tough. But [the pain] went away, thank God.”

Arenado revealed he took a blow to his left kidney area during the fall and briefly lost his breath. Despite the scare, he stayed in the game, receiving treatment postgame and icing the affected area. “I lost my breath for about a minute,” he said. “Once I got it back, I felt like I was OK. You know, I’m still a little bit sore.”

Nolan Arenado is feeling the pain after making the play of the year for the Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) lays on the warning track after falling in to the crowd catching a foul ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium.
Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The play preserved a critical out with runners on and kept the Cardinals in control late. One batter later, reliever Phil Maton struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to end the game and complete the Cardinals’ sweep of Arizona — their fourth sweep of the season.

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“Without him showing, sacrificing and doing what he’s doing, I don’t know that we are where we are,” said veteran pitcher Sonny Gray.

Despite struggling at the plate this year, Arenado’s defense remains elite. He went 0-for-4 on Sunday and is still searching for consistency offensively, but his glove continues to speak volumes. He also delivered a game-winning triple on Friday and made another diving stop on Saturday. The weekend series was a reminder of why Arenado is considered one of the greatest defensive third basemen in MLB history.

“He’s definitely a Hall of Famer,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “One of the best third basemen to ever play the game — and he continues to show that.”

With 10 Gold Gloves and eight All-Star appearances, Arenado’s trophy case is already full, but he made it clear a potential 11th Gold Glove would mean even more. “That would mean a lot and I would love to win it again,” Arenado said. “It would probably be the most special one if I can get that [Gold Glove] back again.”

The Cardinals, now 28-23, have won 16 of their last 20 games and sit just behind the Cubs in the NL Central. If they continue this surge, trade speculation surrounding Arenado could quickly turn into postseason push buzz.