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A first career homer is an unforgettable moment for an MLB rookie. Lucas Spence tripled that magic on Thursday, to the benefit of the Houston Astros.
Facing the Athletics in Sacramento, the 23-year-old center fielder hit his first career homer in the second inning, his second career homer in the seventh inning and his third career homer in the ninth inning. The Astros won 7-5, allowing them to stay tied atop the AL West with the Texas Rangers.
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They came at the Athletics’ temporary home of Sutter Health Park, in front of a crowd of 9,367.
MLB Pipeline currently ranks Spence as the No. 12 prospect in the Astros organization. Most of his stock comes via his glove in center field, speed on the basepaths and patience at the plate. His power is actually ranked as his worst tool, backed up by a career. 402 slugging percentage in the minors.
Spence made his MLB debut in July, got optioned a couple of weeks later and was called back up on Wednesday. Entering Thursday, he was 6-for-40 in his MLB career, with one double, 17 strikeouts anda .419 OPS. That works out to seven total bases in 15 games.
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And then he posted 12 total bases in a single game.
According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Spence is only the third player in MLB history to hit his first three career homers in the same game. The first was Chicago White Sox catcher Seby Zavala on Aug. 15, 2026. The second was St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joshua Baez on July 31 of this season.
Lucas Spence’s power arrived at a perfect time for the Astros.
(AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Unlike Spence, Baez was making his MLB debut and hit his homers on his first three at-abts.
Spence’s homers, however, came at a huge moment for the Astros. Had Houston scored three fewer runs, they would be down a game from the Rangers as both teams enter their final three games of the season. Instead, they’re still tied, which is effectively a lead because the Astros own the tiebreaker.
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The rest of the Astros’ schedule is against the A’s, while the Rangers will begin a three-game road series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday. We’ll see if Spence is any higher than his eighth in the lineup for those remaining games.
