A rookie's historic night powered the Astros past the Athletics, keeping Houston tied atop the AL West with three games to go.
The Houston Astros went into their series against the Athletics coming off a disappointing loss in Seattle, a 10-inning walk-off defeat. Instead of taking the division lead with four games to play, they remained tied with the Rangers.
The Astros were able to get the job done and secure a 7-5 win over the Athletics to open their final series, but the Rangers also finally snagged a win from the Mets keeping the division lead at a tie. Both teams are keeping all baseball fans across the state of Texas on their toes.
With the way things are going, Texas fans won't be able to take a deep breath until the weekend is over.
Here is a look at what went down during their crucial win, and what they need to repeat to fight for the division lead.
The game started off with a pop-up on Peña. Then Yordan Alvarez stepped up to the plate riding an eight-game hitting streak, but walked. Alvarez leads the league in walks this season. It wasn't until the second inning that things got exciting for the Astros.
After Walker and Smith made it on base, Lucas Spence stepped up and crushed one. What a moment for the young player. His first major league home run, a three-run shot, during a game they desperately needed to win, and Lucas Spence sure did his part.
The Astros had a nice cushion for a second, but the Athletics answered right back. Jeff McNeil stepped up to the plate and evened things out with a three-run shot of his own. Just like that, they were tied 3-3.
The A's weren't done yet, crushing another home run, a solo shot giving the A's the lead 4-3. That ended Peter Lambert's night. The most reliable arm of the entire season just didn't have a great night, but luckily the bullpen came in and only gave up one more run for the rest of the game.
But not to worry, Isaac Paredes continued to have a great month of September, and tied things up with a solo shot of his own. Two three-run home runs and two solo shots by each team, and we were looking at a tied game.
Then Lucas Spence stepped up and continued to have the night of his life. He crushed yet another homer, giving the Astros their lead back, 5-4. Butler almost evened things out with a solo shot, but it was just at the wall, and the Astros maintained their lead.
Then the night of home runs continued. Christian Walker absolutely launched one all the way to the rooftop to extend the Astros' lead, 6-4. But the A's weren't done just yet. They ripped a solo shot, making it a one-run game, 6-5. But then Lucas Spence did the unthinkable. He crushed another solo shot, a three-home-run game. Responsible for 5 of the Astros' runs. An unbelievable game for Lucas Spence. Just unbelievable.
Bryan Abreu closed it out for his ninth save, and the Astros maintain first place in the AL West, tied with the Rangers, with three games to go. Now the Astros just need to keep doing what they did Thursday night and grab the three wins left in the regular season.
