HOUSTON — It would've been enough had Evan Carter merely stretched a groundball into a double in his first at-bat, and then scored the Rangers' first run against the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
He did that Sunday night, impressing again in the second inning.
But the rookie was just getting started, it turned out.
Because when the biggest moment of the game arrived, Carter, 21 and still fresh out of the minor leagues, made one of the biggest defensive plays in Rangers' history. And that's no exaggeration for a club that's been short on clutch postseason moments.
Few have been more clutch than what Carter and the Rangers delivered in the eighth inning Sunday night.
It started with Josh Sborz walking the Astros' Jose Altuve to lead off the eighth inning, as Texas led 2-0.
Aroldis Chapman then stepped in to relieve Sborz and face and Alex Bregman. Chapman has an infamous history against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, and when Bregman hammered a 2-1 slider to left-centerfield, it looked as if Houston might have gotten to Chapman again.
Then Evan Carter happened.
The rookie leftfielder ran diagonally to his left and back, around the tricky "Crawford Boxes," the stands that jut out into left field. Had Bregman's flyball gone about 15 feet to the left, it would have been an easy homer.
Instead, it went into the deep cutout beyond the Crawford Boxes. Carter rotated his body back toward home plate and appeared to settle under the ball. But the ball kept flying. So Carter leaped, fully extended his glove and caught it.
Seeing Altuve didn't tag up, Carter heaved the ball into Corey Seager. Altuve made it back to first base with plenty of room to spare, except one problem: He had rounded second base but didn't touch it on his way back.
Seager tossed the ball to Marcus Semien, who stomped on second base. Altuve was initially ruled safe until the play went to review officials, who overturned it.
The Rangers went from nearly giving up a run to getting a double play.
"I had no idea if we were going to be able to double them up or not," Carter said after the game. "Once I caught it, I'm just gonna get it in as quick as possible. You never know what's gonna happen."
Carter said his approach to catching the ball was simple: "Just going to get it."
"That's all outfield's about," Carter said. "Just going and getting it."
After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was asked again to explain how Carter, who hadn't even spent a month in the majors before the playoffs, is playing at such a level.
"There's no fear in this kid since he's come up," Bochy said. "I saw that in spring training. He plays with joy, that's what you love about it. He's got that 'no fear' attitude. He has that freedom that makes him such a good player."
Carter explained it like a rookie might.
"I'm just having fun, that's what it's all about," he said. "We're playing a game. And it's a fun one, too. So I'm just out here having a great time. I got a lot of great teammates around me. We enjoy coming into work every day and competing."