The AL West divisional race is going down to the wire. Entering play on Friday, the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are both tied for first place with three games remaining.
Both teams won on Thursday to stay deadlocked, setting up an exciting final weekend of the regular season.
After the Rangers downed the New York Mets 3-1 earlier in the day, the Astros got an unexpected boost during their 7-5 win over the Athletics.
Rookie outfielder Lucas Spence led the way with three home runs, powering Houston to a comeback win. They were the first homers of his MLB career in just his 16th MLB game.
After going just 6-for-40 with 17 strikeouts to start his career, Spence shockingly erupted for a trio of homers on Thursday. He went 3-for-4 with five RBI, helping the Astros stay in the race with the first three-hit game of his career.
The 23-year-old center fielder gave Houston an early lead with his three-run shot in the top of the second. The A's rallied for four in the third, but Spence smashed a go-ahead solo shot in the seventh. He added a key insurance run with another solo blast in the ninth.
Houston is hoping he can provide a similar spark this weekend to help them reach the playoffs.