The pitcher's duel that began with starters Kyle Leahy and Eduardo Rodriguez swapping scoreless innings and continued through the start of the ninth inning came undone by former Cardinal Nolan Arenado's double that lifted his current team past his former team.

Tied 0-0 with one out in the ninth inning, Cardinals reliever Matt Svanson allowed Arenado to double in a run that left the Cardinals trailing to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. A single allowed to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the next at-bat plated two more runs in an inning that put the Cardinals in a 4-0 hole.

The Cardinals attempted to stage a comeback and had the go-ahead run step to the plate.

Representing the go-ahead run after runs were pushed across by Alec Burleson, Blaze Jordan and Jimmy Crooks, JJ Wetherholt struck out facing Bradyn Garcia to end the 4-3 loss.

Opposite of one another, starters Leahy and Rodriguez matched each other frame for frame to open Tuesday’s game.

While Leahy worked around three doubles in his first five innings, Rodriguez retired 10 of the first 11 Cardinals he faced before allowing two one-out singles to start the fourth.

Both starters exit the matchup in the seventh inning.

Leahy’s exit came after he completed 6 1/3 scoreless innings, marking the longest and most effective start of his big-league career. The exit gave way to rookie Max Rajcic’s first outing at Busch Stadium.

Rodriguez’s exit came following 6 2/3 scoreless innings. His most troublesome inning came in the sixth, when the Cardinals loaded the bases against him with one out, but saw their chance to push across the game’s first run evaporate when Ivan Herrera attempted to tag up and score from third base, but was thwarted at home by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo’s strong throw.

The Cardinals (42-35) received 1 2/3 scoreless innings from Rajcic and saw Svanson begin his outing in the ninth by recording a strikeout of the first batter he faced.

A single by Gabriel Moreno put the go-ahead runner with Svanson on the mound. A 10-pitch walk to Pavin Smith in the next at-bat set Arenado up with a chance to hit with a runner in scoring position vs. Svanson, who got Arenado in a 2-2 count before leaving a 3-2 sinker over the middle of the plate.

The fourth run scored by Arizona came on a past ball with rookie catcher Crooks behind the plate and after Gordon Graceffo, who relieved Svanson, loaded the bases with two walks.

Play at plate ends sixth

The Cardinals’ best chance to push across a run against Rodriguez presented itself in the sixth inning, when they loaded the bases with one out and had a right-hander who had had success against lefties due up.

Hitting with the bases loaded and one out in a game tied 0-0, Nelson Velazquez offered at the first pitch he saw. He lifted it to left field shallow enough for Perdomo to range onto the outfield grass to call off outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Tommy Troy. Perdomo hauled in the fly ball as he bumped into Troy and kept his eyes on Herrera, who hesitated before tagging and attempting to advance home.

Herrera’s hesitation allowed Perdomo to fire a throw to home that one-hopped catcher Moreno. Moreno scooped the one-hopper and managed to apply a tag on a sliding Herrera as he tried to race home for the game’s first run.

Herrera was ruled out at the plate to end the inning on a close play at the plate that was not close enough to warrant a challenge by the Cardinals.

Doubles, but no trouble

In Leahy’s first five innings, the right-hander had to work with a runner on second base and one out or fewer in three different innings. In each of those innings, he neutralized the threat.

After beginning his start by allowing Ketel Marte to rocket a double to left-center field on the first pitch he threw, Leahy got Perdomo to hit into a groundout, struck out Corbin Carroll on a 1-2 fastball that got Carroll to whiff and then got Moreno to fly out to center field.

The second scoring threat Leahy faced came in the third inning when LuJames Groover smacked a double to center field to open the inning. Leahy’s ability to silence the scoring chance followed a similar script.

The right-hander induced a groundout and he got a strikeout, this one being of Marte on a 2-2 sinker thrown inside and tailed back into the strike zone. The third out from Leahy came on a lineout Perdomo hit right at first baseman Alec Burleson.

Having worked around two leadoff doubles already, Leahy was forced to work around a one-out double in the fifth inning after Gurriel Jr. lined an extra-base hit to right field.

This time, a pair of pop-ups skied into foul territory and that were hauled in by Cardinal defenders got Leahy through the inning.

Getting in the hit column

Held to one walk and no hits through the first 3 1/3 innings pitched by Rodriguez, the Cardinals found a breakthrough in the fourth.

The Cardinals’ first hit of the game came with one out in the fourth inning in the form of a line drive single Jordan Walker hit to right field. Behind him, Nootbaar followed with a line drive single to right field with a 109.6 mph exit velocity, per Statcast.

The back-to-back hits gave the Cardinals their first runner in scoring position with their Nos. 5 and 6 hitters looming.

The first at-bat with a runner in scoring position the Cardinals took vs. Rodriguez ended without a ball in play. Velazquez fouled off three consecutive 0-2 pitches before taking a 93-mph fastball for a called third strike.

On the next pitch, the Cardinals’ threat was quieted as Jose Fermin flew out to center field.

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