Listed at 6 feet 3 and 260 pounds, the Cardinals' Matt Adams doesn't look like your typical slick-fielding first baseman.

But appearances can be deceiving.

“I've been watching him play for three years and he's really an underrated defender,'' said fellow infielder Greg Garcia following the Cardinals' 4-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday night at Busch Stadium. “If you watch him during batting practice, he's as smooth as they come. He's got very good hands, very good feet, but because of his size and how big and strong he is, I think people tend to overlook that aspect of his game.''

Adams showed off his glove and his quick feet around the first base bag a number of times Wednesday. In the Houston fifth, with two on and no one out, he came up with a chopper off the bat of Astros catcher Jason Castro and turned it into a 3-6-3 double play that helped end the threat.

With two outs in the sixth, the 27-year-old came up with a sliding catch near the steps of the Cardinals' dugout on a foul popup off the bat of Jose Altuve.

Then, in the seventh, after a leadoff hit by Carlos Correa, Adams came up with a shot off the bat of former Cardinal Colby Rasmus, stepped on the bag and fired a strike to shortstop Aledmys Diaz to cut down Correa for 3-6 double play.