Luis Valbuena hit two home runs for the Astros Monday night as the Houston offense was not bothered by Safeco Field in a 7-5 win over the Mariners. Valbuena, acquired from the Cubs for Dexter Fowler, brought his total to five homers on the season, tied for second in the AL behind Nelson Cruz with eight.

The Astros find themselves in first place in the AL West, one game over .500 at 7-6. Their three homers against Seattle bring their season total to 18, one behind the Orioles for the AL lead. The offense is set up to be all or nothing, however. They lead the league in strikeouts by ten. The team does not do a good job of getting on base, so while the Orioles are producing 4.77 runs per game, the Astros are down at 3.15 runs per game, second worse in the league. It’s not a good offense, but it is an explosive one.

The pitching is just the opposite. They rank high in strikeouts, low in home runs allowed, and own a good ERA. It’s as if the front office concentrated on two things, home runs and strikeouts, and assembled a team capable of playing .500 ball (which would be an improvement). If the Astros can get their batters to reach base a bit more, they have a potential powerhouse here.