3B Luis Valbuena homered for a second consecutive game and is hitting .261 (6-for-23) with three homers and eight RBIs over his last eight games. Valbuena has hit safely in 21 of his last 29 games.

3B Luis Valbuena doubled for a second consecutive game and recorded his first multi-hit game since April 23 against Boston. Valbuena has a modest three-game hitting streak and has hit safely in four of five games, batting .278 with three doubles and a home run in that span.

3B Luis Valbuena hit his first home run of the season, a game-tying shot off Mariners RHP Steve Cishek in the ninth inning on Saturday. It was his third career ninth-inning homer but first game-tying homer in the ninth. Two of his three ninth-inning homers came against Cishek, the other on April 25, 2013.

3B Luis Valbuena reached base in all four plate appearances, finishing 2-for-2 with two doubles, two walks and a run scored.He tied his career high by reaching base four times, doing so previously on Oct. 2, 2015, at Arizona.

3B Luis Valbuena avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.125 million deal.

Valbuena went 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, a walk, two RBI and two runs scored in a win over Arizona on Friday.

Every Astros hitter seemed to hit on Friday on the 21-run onslaught and Valbuena was a major catalyst. The crazy thing about Valbuena's season is that 43 of his 96 hits this season have been either a double or a home run. It's unclear if he simply can't hit for average or if he's going all-in for power. In any case, he can't sustain this and he'll have to change something to be successful next season.

Valbuena went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double and a walk in a win over the Mainers.

Valbuena has had a very strange season, as many of his few hits have been for extra-bases. In fact, 40 of Valbuena's 93 hits have either been a home run or a double. That sort of rate in unsustainable for next season and he'll either have to fix his .219 average or he'll see plenty of time on the bench.

Valbuena is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mariners.

With the Astros facing a fourth straight lefty, Valbuena will remain on the bench in favor of Chris Carter at first base. Valbuena has managed just four homers since the All-Star break after hitting 19 in the first half, though he's offset the drop in slugging to a large extent with a 50-point jump in OBP.

Valbuena is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers.

As is typical of late, Valbuena will take a seat in favor of Chris Carter with a left-handed pitcher on the mound for the opposing team.

Valbuena is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the A's, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports.

With the Astros facing yet another lefty in Felix Doubront, the sixth southpaw they've faced in their last seven games, Valbuena will head to the bench in favor of Chris Carter at first base. Valbuena has gone just 4-for-21 (all singles) so far in September, with his last homer coming back on Aug. 22.

Valbuena is out of the lineup Sunday against the Angels.

Valbuena's absence Sunday likely relates to the lefty on the mound in Andrew Heaney. Marwin Gonzalez will replace him at first base, batting sixth for the Astros.

Valbuena is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mariners.

He will sit for a second straight day with the Astros facing another lefty in Roenis Elias, this time in favor of Marwin Gonzalez at first base. Predictably, Valbuena's power numbers have fallen off significantly in the second half, as he's managed only three homers in 98 trips since the All-Star break after swatting 19 in 286 at-bats in the first half.

Valbuena went 1-for-4 with a two-run double and a run scored in a 4-1 victory over the Twins on Saturday.

Valbuena continues to rebound from a virtually lifeless July in which the power-hitting lefty failed to hit a single homer. The veteran third baseman has now hit safely in six out of his last eight games, and has posted two-RBI games in two of his last four contests. Although he has undeniably struggled to consistently reach base all year, Valbuena has managed a career-high in homers(22)in his first season in Houston.

Valbuena is out of the lineup Sunday against the Dodgers.

Valbuena will receive the day off Sunday with the left-handed Clayton Kershaw toeing the rubber for the Dodgers. Chris Carter will replace him at first base, batting seventh for the Astros.

Valbuena is not in the lineup Friday, Howard Chen of Fox 26 in Houston reports.

Valbuena will sit for the first time since Sunday against Detroit, as the Astros go with Chris Carter at first base and Jed Lowrie at third against Dodgers' starter Brett Anderson.

Valbuena is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers.

Valbuena has made three straight starts between first base and DH, but will get the afternoon off Sunday. Evan Gattis will serve as the DH, while Chris Carter takes over at first base. With a lefty on the mound for Detroit, the move makes sense from a matchup standpoint.

Valbuena is out of the lineup Tuesday, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.

With Chris Carter starting at first base and Jed Lowrie starting at third base, Valbuena was the odd man out Tuesday. Valbuena is on pace to hit 25-plus homers this season, making him useful in deeper formats despite his abysmal .213 batting average.

Valbuena went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in a 3-1 loss to the A's on Friday.

Valbuena was seemingly the only Astro who could figure out Sonny Gray and he provided all of the offense. He continues to have an odd year as he has a terrible .213 average, but a very good 21 home runs. A 16.7 percent home run to fly ball rate would suggest this homer pace simply can't continue.

Valbuena is back in the lineup Monday, batting eighth and playing first base, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

After getting Sunday off, Valbuena returns to the starting lineup on Monday at first base. He's really struggled at the plate this season, hitting just .202 in 87 games, though he does have a career high 19 home runs. He replaces Marwin Gonzalez at first base.

Valbuena is out of the lineup Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

Valbuena will have now sat back-to-back contests after starting the previous five in a row. The return of Jed Lowrie may have an adverse effect on the playing time of Valbuena, who owns 19 home runs despite a .202 batting average.