OAKLAND -- A large part of the A’s success over the past few years has been built on avoiding a heavy reliance on one or two players to carry the load. But there are certain games where you just need your stars to step up and make an impact.

Tuesday night certainly qualified as one of those times.

The A's entered a three-game series against the second-place Astros on Tuesday holding a slim half-game lead in the American League West, giving the opening contest the air of carrying a bit more importance than a normal mid-May matchup. In a 6-5 walk-off win over the Astros on Ramón Laureano’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, the club leaned on the dynamic trio of Laureano, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman, who combined for three homers, two doubles and five RBIs.

“Against the best teams, you rely on your guys in the middle of the order,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “They all showed up today. It’s what you expect -- your best players to show up in the biggest games. They all had really good games tonight.”

Laureano was one of the few A’s batters to find success against Astros starter Cristian Javier early, belting a pair of solo homers off the right-hander in his first two at-bats. The second homer -- a 100.7 mph rocket on a hanging slider that was sent into the left field bleachers a projected 387 feet, per Statcast -- was Laureano’s 10th of the year, briefly giving him sole possession of the team home run lead.

Both of Laureano’s homers helped the A’s claw back from an early 3-0 hole. The first came in the first, serving as an immediate response to the two runs the Astros hung on A’s starter Sean Manaea.

There always seems to be an extra edge Laureano plays with against Oakland’s division rivals. The history is well-documented -- Laureano was traded to the A’s from the Astros in 2017. The added focus certainly shows up on the stat sheet, with the center fielder now a career .325 hitter (37-for-114) against his former club. After going 2-for-3 on Tuesday, Laureano is 8-for-22 with three homers, a double, triple and six RBIs in six games against Houston this season.

“He tends to bring a little energy,” Melvin said. “Just the way he plays and the fight he has in him. We were down and, all of a sudden, Ramón shows up for a couple of homers and it feels like a different game. 

“Whether it’s defensively or on the bases, he finds a way to be part of a win. Today was a lot more than just part of a win.”

Olson inched back in his jockeying with Laureano for the team home run lead with his 10th homer, a solo shot off Javier in the sixth. More importantly, the towering shot that registered 105 mph off the bat and sailed up the right-field bleachers a projected 403 feet tied the game, 3-3.

Olson’s homer was somewhere in the middle of what was the equivalent of two heavyweight boxers exchanging punches. With Manaea out of the game after allowing three runs over six innings, the Astros struck back with two runs off right-hander Burch Smith in the seventh. 

Again, the A’s came right back.

Mark Canha got a run back in the next half-inning on a sacrifice fly. In the eighth, Laureano drew a leadoff walk, scoring two batters later on Chapman’s second double of the night -- a booming liner off the wall in left-center.

“We’ve seen this before multiple times where we get down a little bit and come back to do our thing late,” Melvin said. “It’s a pretty good recipe, especially at home.”

The final ingredient of that winning recipe, of course, is the walk-off. Laureano’s game-winning sac fly off righty Bryan Abreu, which was set up earlier in the ninth by a walk by Canha and Seth Brown’s single, provided Oakland with its fifth walk-off victory of the season, which leads the Majors. It also provided a nice momentum boost in what was the first of a pivotal stretch of 16 consecutive games against the A's AL West rivals.

But the late-inning magic doesn’t just materialize on its own. It’s the result of trust that has been established by these A’s from winning so much over the last three years. The trust of Manaea grinding out an outing in which his stuff was not great -- he allowed 10 hits -- knowing his offense had his back.

The same goes for the offense’s trust in the bullpen -- A’s relievers held Houston scoreless over the final two innings -- to keep the game as close as possible long enough for an opportunity deliver in a clutch moment.

“We all just believe in each other,” Manaea said. “I think that’s one of the less talked about things. That belief in each other. Good things can happen from that. 

“We’ve done it five times already, which is crazy. It’s fun to be a part of it.”