23-year-old center fielder Lucas Spence just became an overnight hero for the Houston Astros . Who would've thought?
Baseball just finds new ways to amaze, and Spence put together the game of his young life out of nowhere that brought the Astros back into first place in the American League West at 79-80 thanks to a tiebreaker with just three games left in the regular season.
The Astros hit five home runs total and beat the Athletics 7-5 in Sacramento, California, on a late Thursday night. Spence drove in five of those runs thanks to a 3-for-4 night with the first three home runs of his MLB career.
Houston Astros center fielder Lucas Spence hits a home run. Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Spence made history in multiple ways. The undrafted lefty became the only player in Astros history with a 3+ home run game within his first 20 career games, according to Space City Home Network . This was Spence's 16th big-league game.
Additionally, Spence is just the third player ever to hit his first three career home runs in the same game, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com. He joined Seby Zavala and Joshua Bez of the St. Louis Cardinals , who also accomplished that earlier this year.
"It's kind of crazy," Spence said, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. "Even just to be a big leaguer is still crazy. Just to be able to be even more niche is even crazier."
Spence was just added back to the roster from the taxi squad on Wednesday in Seattle after Brice Matthews went down with left knee inflammation. Houston's No. 12 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline immediately made a start that day and got his second straight start in center field on Thursday.
The minor league season was over on Sunday, but Spence's season was not. His contribution could very well send the Astros into October baseball. Spence only had one extra-base hit and three RBI up until this point.
His three-run homer in the second inning got the scoring started and it went 429 feet. Spence's second homer gave the Astros a 5-4 lead in the seventh.
"It's a great moment," manager Joe Espada said, per McTaggart. "I enjoy watching young players come up here on the biggest stage there is. We needed some of those kids to step up and do big things, and he just delivered."
24-year-old rookie relief pitcher Miguel Ullola also deserves credit for being a lifeline out of the bullpen on a night when help was desperately needed. Ullola threw three shutout innings that gave the Astros time to retake the lead. It was the best outing of his young major league career.
Houston Astros relief pitcher Miguel Ullola throws. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Starter Peter Lambert put forth his worst start of the season at the worst possible time as he went just 2.2 innings and gave up four earned runs along with six hits on 62 pitches. While right-hander Bryan King came on and threw 1.1 scoreless innings, it was Ullola who made it possible for the Astros to piece the game together.
The righty in Ullola ultimately earned the win as well, just the second of his career. Both of his wins have come in the last two Astros victories. He gave up just one hit and struck out three.
Ullola only had one day of rest after he threw two shutout innings in Seattle on Tuesday. His impact in an overworked and decimated bullpen has been commendable. This was the best relief outing of his professional career since the 2023 season with High-A Asheville.
Bryan Abreu got the save with his 1.1 scoreless innings. When the Astros went down 4-3 in the third inning, it seemed like it just wasn't meant to be. However, Houston found a new way thanks to some rookie talent that was starring at Triple-A Sugar Land earlier this year to keep postseason hopes alive.
The Astros added homers from Isaac Paredes in the sixth and Christian Walker in the eighth. Walker's was crushed 436 foot at 109.7 mph.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/astros/onsi as Two Rookies Become Unexpected Heroes For Astros To Stay Alive in AL West Race .
