Flushing, NY (My Sportsbook) - Omir Santos clubbed his first major league homer, a grand slam during a six-run first inning, and the New York Mets used a solid outing from John Maine to down the struggling Florida Marlins, 7-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Citi Field.

"When I hit it, I knew it was going to go far. I didn't know it was going to go all the way, though," Santos said about his grand slam.

David Wright, Gary Sheffield, and Ryan Church had an RBI apiece for the Mets, who improved to 3-1 on a six-game homestand. Wright also had a triple and scored twice.

Maine (1-2) gave up just one hit and one unearned run in a six-inning start. The righty also fanned four batters and walked three to improve his ERA to 5.40.

Emilio Bonifacio and Jorge Cantu had the lone two hits for the Marlins, who have lost seven straight games. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez left the game in the first frame after being hit on the right wrist with a pitch. X-rays were negative and Ramirez is day-to-day according to the Marlins.

"It's just bruised and hurts a lot," Ramirez said about his wrist. "Hopefully I can be back soon."

The Marlins haven't lost eight in a row since dropping eight straight from August 15-22, 2007.

Anibal Sanchez (1-2) also went six innings, allowing six runs on eight hits. He had four strikeouts and two walks.

The Marlins took advantage of poor fielding by the Mets to take an early 1-0 edge. Left fielder Sheffield dropped a routine fly ball from Bonifacio, who advanced to second on the error. A John Baker groundout moved Bonifacio to third. Maine then hit Ramirez on the wrist with a pitch. Ramirez left the game immediately and Ross Gload came in as a pinch runner. Cantu singled to center to knock in Bonifacio, but Maine got Dan Uggla looking at a third strike and Jeremy Hermida swinging to prevent further damage.

Luis Castillo drew a one-out walk to start New York's six-run rally. Carlos Beltran extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single to right field. Back-to-back singles from Sheffield and Wright drove in Castillo and Beltran, respectively. Sanchez got Church to go down looking, but walked Fernando Tatis to load the bases.

Santos, who has hit safely in each of his five starts with the Mets, then drove a 1-1 slider over the left-center field wall for the first grand slam at new Citi Field.

Both starting pitchers calmed down after a wild first and allowed no more runs before being replaced on the hill in the seventh frame.

Renyel Pinto took over on the hill for the Marlins in the eighth and was welcomed by a Wright triple to center. Church's sacrifice fly to center field gave the Mets a commanding 7-1 advantage.

Sean Green, J.J. Putz, and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth inning, respectively, to seal the victory.

Game Notes

Santos' grand slam was the first in Citi Field...New York first baseman Carlos Delgado was not in the lineup on Monday due to a sore right hip. Tatis replaced Delgado in the lineup at first base...Mets second baseman Castillo left the game with a hamstring injury after reaching base on an infield single in the fourth frame...Beltran went 1-for-4 and has hit safely in 18 of the Mets' 19 games this season. He has also reached base safely in 24 consecutive games dating back to September 24, 2008. The New York Jets' 2009 first round pick, Mark Sanchez, threw out Monday's ceremonial first pitch...The teams have split four games so far this season...New York's Jose Reyes went 0-for-4 to have a 12-game hitting streak snapped.