Evan Carter makes great catch, doubles up Jose Altuve

HOUSTON — The moment Alex Bregman launched a deep ball to left field in the eighth inning on Sunday night, the exhilarated fans at Minute Maid Park braced themselves for a familiar comeback home run off Aroldis Chapman. But instead, Texas Rangers rookie outfielder Evan Carter made an incredible catch near the Crawford Boxes and threw out Jose Altuve, resulting in a costly baserunning mistake. This highly eventful play ultimately shaped the Rangers’ 2-0 victory in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

When Bregman stepped up to the plate in the eighth inning, the Astros’ win probability stood at 23 percent, according to the FanGraphs win probability tool. If Bregman’s hit had been a bit more to the left or had more power, Houston’s win probability would have increased to 62 percent. A double off the wall, where it measures 366, likely would have scored Altuve and put a runner in scoring position with no outs.

“That double play was outstanding. It practically sealed the game,” Chapman remarked.

After Carter’s acrobatic catch, Altuve failed to touch second base on his way back to first, resulting in his dismissal. As a result, the Astros’ win probability dropped to 9 percent.

According to MLB rule 5.06(b)(1), a runner must touch first, second, third, and home base in order when advancing. If forced to return, they must retrace their steps and touch all bases in reverse order, unless the ball is dead or specific provisions apply. In this case, Altuve should have gone directly back to first.

Carter deserves credit for his outstanding play. He swiftly positioned himself near the Crawford Boxes and made a superb catch, adjusting his glove midair to snag the ball that was traveling at an impressive exit velocity of 103.2 mph.

“It was tricky navigating around the wall right there,” Carter shared in a postgame interview on FOX. “I was hoping the ball wouldn’t go over. If it had been a few feet to the left, it definitely would have. Thankfully, it worked in our favor, and I just tried my best to handle the challenging wall.”

“I didn’t think he would make that play. I thought the ball was over his head,” Altuve admitted. “It was an excellent play, and I tried to return to first.”

Carter, a rookie, was playing his first game at Minute Maid Park, which is notorious for its tricky left field area due to the extended Crawford Boxes. However, veteran outfielders Robbie Grossman, who used to play for the Astros, and Travis Jankowski, who manned left field for Texas in previous games at Minute Maid Park this season, provided Carter with valuable guidance. They demonstrated the wall’s dynamics by tossing balls off it to showcase the ricochets.

“They showed me the ropes and taught me how to play in this particular area,” Carter explained. “Robbie has a lot of experience here, so I trusted his advice. It was a significant help for me.”

Marcus Semien’s veteran presence and knowledge ultimately completed the play. Carter mentioned that he was unaware of Altuve’s failure to touch second base; his focus was on getting the ball back into play. The Rangers had reviewed this specific scenario in Spring Training as an example for both baserunners and infielders.

Semien had kept this lesson in mind ever since. He stated that he always observes the runner’s actions in such situations because the middle-infield umpire tends to focus on the ball rather than the base.

“Exactly as the umpire told me, he was focused on the ball and didn’t see what happened. I tried to remind him, but he still called it safe. Fortunately, we were able to review the play,” Semien explained.

Although Altuve claimed he was unaware of his failure to touch the base until the review, he acknowledged his mistake.

“I didn’t touch the base again. That’s what happened,” Altuve admitted. “I thought it was going over Carter’s head. He made an incredible play. I’m not making any excuses; he executed a really impressive play.”