Cuban Yuli Guryel on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves hit his first MLB home run of the 2023 season; In defeating his team, the Miami Marlins, 7-4.
Gurriel hit his second home run of the year in the top of the ninth inning with no slugging on a line trip to left field that was missed by Kevin Pillar and allowed to go all bases on a safe.
Gurriel woke Wednesday up with a .293/.341/.463 offensive streak with three extra base hits and four RBIs in 44 appearances with the Fish this season.
The first baseman and DH signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Marlins in the offseason, ending his tenure with the Houston Astros after winning the World Series in 2022.
Gurriel hit . 242 with 8 home runs, 53 runs scored, the same number of RBIs and just 0.647 OPS in 2022, and now he’s preparing to be a role player and help the Marlins off the bench.
“He can replace Jarrett Cooper. We see him take several innings at DH sometimes, day here, day there, also pinch late in the game,” Ng told MLB.com. “Gurriel, in particular, takes good professional shifts, and if you need the ball in play, he’ll be a very good person to call on.”
“He’s a winner,” added Marlins manager Skip Shumaker.