HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Athletics erased a six-run deficit with a six-run fifth inning and Max Muncy delivered a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh, lifting visiting past the Houston Astros 7-6 on Sunday afternoon at Daikin Park.

The win gave the Athletics a split of the three-game series after Houston won the opener Friday and took the middle game Saturday. The Athletics improved to 51-80, while the Astros fell to 66-66. The game drew an announced crowd of 30,708 and lasted 3 hours 15 minutes.

Houston seized control early against Athletics starter Brady Basso. Jeremy Peña singled and Yordan Alvarez followed with a line-drive single to right, putting runners at the corners. Isaac Paredes lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Peña, and Jose Altuve then crushed a two-run homer to left-center, his 14th of the season, to make it 3-0 in the first inning.

The Astros added a run in the second without a hit. Cam Smith walked, and after two strikeouts, Athletics reliever Jack Perkins entered and intentionally walked Alvarez. Paredes walked to load the bases, and Altuve walked to force in Smith, stretching the lead to 4-0.

Houston extended its advantage in the fourth. Peña reached on a throwing error by shortstop Darell Hernaiz, and Paredes followed with a two-run homer to left, his 17th, giving the Astros a 6-0 cushion. Only one of those runs was earned because of the error.

The Athletics answered emphatically in the fifth. Donovan Walton singled and Hernaiz walked, bringing Brian Serven to the plate. Serven launched a three-run homer to left-center, his fourth of the season, cutting the deficit to 6-3. Henry Bolte singled, and after Carlos Cortes struck out, Zack Gelof was hit by a pitch. Lawrence Butler then doubled off the left-field wall, scoring Bolte and Gelof, and Tommy White followed with a two-run single to right, scoring Butler and White to tie the game at 6-6. Muncy struck out to end the inning, but the Athletics had erased a six-run hole.

The game remained tied until the seventh. Muncy led off the inning against Astros reliever Steven Okert and drove a 1-0 pitch over the center-field wall for his seventh home run, giving a 7-6 lead. Muncy’s homer proved decisive.

Perkins, the winning pitcher, threw five innings of relief, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out six. He improved to 3-9. Scott Blewett pitched a scoreless seventh, Luis Medina worked a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts, and Hogan Harris struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 13th save.

Altuve finished 1 for 4 with three RBIs and a home run, and Paredes went 1 for 3 with three RBIs and a homer. Serven was the offensive star for Oakland, going 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs. The Athletics collected 10 hits, while the Astros had eight.

Houston starter Cristian Javier allowed four hits and three earned runs in four innings, striking out eight. Okert took the loss, falling to 6-2 after surrendering Muncy’s go-ahead homer. Kai-Wei Teng struck out four in 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and Josh Hader struck out two in a perfect eighth for Houston.

The Athletics’ bullpen combination of Perkins, Blewett, Medina and Harris limited the Astros to one earned run over the final seven innings. Houston’s best late chance came in the eighth when Taylor Trammell singled and Yordan Alvarez was intentionally walked, but Paredes flied out to end the threat.

The game was a stark reversal of Houston’s early dominance. The Astros scored three in the first, one in the second and two in the fourth, but their offense went quiet after Paredes’s homer. The Athletics, meanwhile, took advantage of two hit-by-pitches and a walk in the pivotal fifth inning to send 11 batters to the plate.

Defensively, both teams made key plays. Walton and Gelof turned double plays for the Athletics, and Astros second baseman Altuve was involved in a double play in the eighth. The Athletics’ outfielders made several routine catches, but the decisive plays came at the plate.

The win was the Athletics’ third in their last four games after a difficult stretch that included losses in 12 of their previous 15. They return home Monday to open a three-game series against Minnesota. The Astros travel to New York for a three-game set against the Yankees beginning Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Houston Astros 5, Athletics 2, and Interstat’s ELO system had projected Houston with a 65.30 percent probability to win. Houston had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 13 runs went under the over/under line of 9.