HOUSTON -- At first glance, what seemed like a simple single from the Halos’ Taylor Ward turned out to be a clever play by Houston catcher Martín Maldonado in the Astros’ 4-2 win over the Angels at Minute Maid Park on Sunday afternoon.

It was the top of the fifth inning when Ward hit a line-drive two-out single to right field, where Kyle Tucker received it off of one hop. It looked like a routine play after that, with Tucker throwing it in to second baseman Jose Altuve while Ward was rounding first base. During all of that, Maldonado sneaked in behind to cover first base, caught Altuve’s throw, then applied a tag to Ward, who was walking back to the base.

Ward was given the benefit of the doubt at first, as the umpire called him safe. But the Astros challenged, and after a review, the call was overturned.

“I think we had a chance early in the year with Javy Báez [in a similar situation] and we didn’t make it. I’m excited, and I even called the replay,” Maldonado said with a smile. “Jose [Altuve] always sees me. I feel like it’s more for a right-handed hitter, where Yuli [Gurriel] is way far off [the base]. [Runners] always take a big turn over there. I got sneaky on this one.”

Two huge elements of this play were the noise of the home crowd and the fact that Ward, admittedly, was caught unaware. It is something that the outfielder can’t change, but will learn from.

“I think when I heard something, it was just a little too late," Ward said. "It's just something you don't necessarily see every day, but something you learn from. I will make sure it never happens again."

It may not be as impressive as catching a combined no-hitter in New York or catching two immaculate innings in the same game, but this play is something that Maldonado takes pride in. Even after his two-homer performance in Saturday’s 9-1 win over the Angels, Maldonado admits he would rather make plays like he did on Sunday than be a great hitter.

“Do I get excited when I get a day like this?” Maldonado said on Saturday about his performance. “Yes, but for me, it’s even better when I go 0-for-4 with a win than 4-for-4 with a loss. I take more pride in my defense than anything else.”

The defensive play was crucial to the Astros’ walk-off win to sweep the Angels. It turned out to be a play with a whole lot of meaning in the game and for the catcher himself.

“Martín told me he’d been waiting to do that his whole career,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "That was a big overturned call, because we’d probably have gone and got [starting pitcher] Framber [Valdez] at that point. That gave Framber a chance to go back out there and get the victory.”

Valdez, who was at 91 pitches at the time of the play, added: “That was very important. That was one of the reasons I was able to go back out and throw the sixth inning. I give credit to Maldonado for always staying in the game and looking for different ways to get batters out, even after that base hit there.”