Houston Astros' Yuli Gurriel makes himself at home against Miami Marlins

MIAMI -- Marlins Park is located in a Miami neighborhood known as "Little Havana," which must have made Yuli Gurriel feel right at home.

Gurriel, a native Cuban, hit his first career grand slam, leading the Houston Astros to a 7-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday night at Marlins Park.

"This is his area," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of Gurriel, who lives in Miami in the off-season. "I'm sure it's exciting for him."

With Houston trailing 1-0 in the sixth, Gurriel hit his two-out blast to left-center on a 2-1 pitch from reliever Junichi Tazawa (1-1). Houston had loaded the bases against Tazawa with a Josh Reddick double, a Carlos Correa walk and an Evan Gattis hit-by-pitch.

"I started with a couple of balls in," Tazawa said, "and the (2-1 pitch) went more to the middle than I wanted."

Counting a shot hit by Alex Bregman against the New York Yankees on Sunday, the Astros have hit grand slams in consecutive games for the first time in franchise history.

Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, who hit a solo homer in the ninth to account for the final run of the game and finished with three RBIs, said Gurriel is a complete player.

"He can defend, he can hit for average, and he has occasional power," Altuve said of Gurriel, a 32-year-old rookie who spent most of his career in Cuba before joining the Astros last August. "To me, he can hit 15 to 20 homers a year."

Hinch said Gurriel has a lot of good qualities.

"He hits the ball probably harder than anyone on our team," Hinch said. "But he's also an intelligent hitter. He hunts pitches. He laid off the high fastball (against Tazawa), and he was very selective. The pressure was on the pitcher because there was nowhere to put Yuli."

Gurriel's homer changed the game's trajectory and allowed the Astros, who have the best record in baseball at 27-12, to send the Marlins (14-23) to their 15th loss in 19 games.

Joe Musgrove (3-3) earned his second straight win, allowing eight hits and one walk but just one run in 5 2/3 innings.

Miami starter Dan Straily was very effective, allowing just one hit, one walk and no runs in five innings. However, he was hit in the arm by a Gattis line drive that registered at 108.3 mph, the second-hardest-hit ball off a Straily pitch this year.

Although the Marlins got the out on Gattis' shot to lead off the fifth, the ball left a large bruise on Straily's right forearm, and the right-hander exited the game after just 65 pitches.

"I'm very fortunate it didn't hit my face or any bones in my arm," Straily said. "Hopefully it's just a sore muscle in my arm."

Straily, who set a record by becoming the first Marlins pitcher to allow four hits or fewer in seven consecutive starts, said he doesn't expect to miss any time. Still, he admitted it was a scary incident.

"The adrenaline kicked in, and I didn't feel anything," he said. "But then I looked down and it was pretty swollen."

Miami opened the scoring with a run in the fifth. J.T. Riddle singled to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Straily and scored on a two-run single by Christian Yelich.

After Gurriel's grand slam, Houston padded its lead to 6-1 on a two-run single by Altuve in the seventh.

Justin Bour, who went 3-for-4 and fell a triple short of the cycle, hit a solo home run in the eighth, cutting Miami's deficit to 6-2. It was Bour's third homer in the past four games, and all of them have been solo shots.

That was the last Miami threat, leaving Marlins manager Don Mattingly to deal with yet another frustrating loss.

"We were one pitch away from getting out of that (sixth inning)," he said, "but then it turned into four (runs)."

NOTES: At 27-12, the Astros are off to the best 39-game start in franchise history. Just four years ago, the Astros lost 111 games. ... Astros 2B Jose Altuve, a two-time batting champ, remained in the game after being hit in the left hand by a first-inning pitch from Marlins RHP Dan Straily. Altuve left the Sunday night game against the New York Yankees due to discomfort in his left foot. The issue: Altuve was breaking in bright, new pink cleats for Mother's Day, and the shoes were too tight. ... LHP Braxton Garrett, the Marlins' first-round pick last year, earned his first pro win on Sunday, allowing one run in five innings, striking out four for Class A Greensboro. ... Marlins LHP Jeff Locke (shoulder tendinitis) has made two minor league rehab starts and will likely make two more before he is activated.