HOUSTON, TX - Major League Baseball announced this afternoon that Houston Astros infielder Yuli Gurriel has been named the American League Player of the Week for the week of July 1-7. This marks the second-career American League Player of the Week award for Gurriel.

Last week, Gurriel hit .429 (9x21) with a double, six homers, 13 RBI and a 1.812 OPS (.478 OBP/1.333 SLG) in five games, four of which were Astros victories. He led all AL players last week in RBI (13) and slugging percentage , while being tied for first in home runs (6).

During the week, Gurriel became just the fifth player in Astros history to homer in five straight games (Wed.-Sun), joining Jose Altuve (2019), Morgan Ensberg (2006), Carlos Beltran (2004) and Cliff Johnson (1975). He capped off the week yesterday vs. LAA, going 2x4 with a game-tying grand slam in the 6th inning, which helped lead the Astros to an 11-10 victory over the Angels. His five career grand slams rank T-4th in franchise history with Lance Berkman and George Springer. Yesterday, he also became the first player in franchise history to record a run and an RBI in seven straight games, according to Stats Inc.

During his 11-game hitting streak, Gurriel is batting .400 (18x45) with three doubles, nine home runs and 18 RBI. During that stretch, he became just third Astro in history with as many as nine home runs in an 11-game stretch, joining Jeff Bagwell (2000) and Glenn Davis (1990), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Gurriel has also recorded an RBI in seven consecutive games, which is the longest streak since Marwin Gonzalez’s eight-game streak in 2017.

This marks Gurriel’s second career AL Player of the Week award, as he took home that honor for the week of Sept. 17-23, 2018. He’s the second Astro to win a weekly award this season (Springer May 6-12).