CHICAGO -- Bryan De La Cruz did not necessarily agree with the Marlins¡¯ plan for him in the ninth inning of Game 1 of Saturday¡¯s doubleheader against the Cubs. So the 27-year-old took matters into his own hands.

¡°I¡¯m not going to say he called it, but he kind of called it,¡± said manager Skip Schumaker of De La Cruz¡¯ go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth that propelled the Marlins to a 3-2 win at Wrigley Field.

Miami trailed Chicago 2-1 in the ninth Saturday afternoon and was up against Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay. Before De La Cruz¡¯s plate appearance, Marlins bench coach Luis Urueta laid out the plan.

¡°We were going to pinch run for him, and he said we don¡¯t need a pinch runner,¡± Schumaker said.

Said De La Cruz via interpreter Will Nadal: ¡°I told them, ¡®What do you mean a pinch runner? I'm going to get a homer here, and you're not going to need to do that.¡¯¡±

After a Luis Arraez single, Alzolay fell behind De La Cruz 2-0, throwing a sinker and slider down and away. He came back with a sinker on the inner half.

¡°Really, his best pitch is the sinker,¡± De La Cruz said of Alzolay. ¡°I feel like the best pitch that I can hit is the sinker. So at that point, it¡¯s really 50-50 the way it would go. I think in that instance, the way his sinker went, that was 70-30 for me there, the advantage.¡±

De La Cruz hit the 94.9 mph Alzolay offering 104.3 mph off the bat and a Statcast-projected 397 feet to left-center field for the go-ahead homer. He stopped to admire the drive for several seconds, then flipped his bat and repeatedly pointed at the Marlins' dugout.

No pinch-runner needed, indeed.

¡°He¡¯s feeling really good at the plate,¡± Schumaker said. ¡°He had good at-bats all game long.¡±

De La Cruz walked in the first inning, and in the fifth came just shy of hitting a go-ahead grand slam off Javier Assad. He instead settled for a 345-foot sac fly to the left-field wall to cut the Marlins¡¯ deficit to 2-1.

With the homer, De La Cruz became the first Marlin to tally at least one extra-base hit and one RBI in seven straight games since Jorge Cant¨² (Sept. 9-19, 2008). He¡¯s recorded a hit in 18 of the Marlins¡¯ 21 games this season and has a team-leading 25 knocks.

¡°I¡¯m just feeling really good at the plate right now, thankfully,¡± De La Cruz said. ¡°Things are going well, thanks to God. It¡¯s something I¡¯m preparing for. ¡­ I think it¡¯s the consistency that I¡¯ve developed. It¡¯s that routine that I keep going every time. I think that¡¯s what¡¯s getting me the results right now.¡±

De La Cruz¡¯s big swing followed Jes¨²s Luzardo¡¯s first quality start this season. The lefty allowed three hits and two runs in six innings, walking three with six strikeouts.

The Cubs¡¯ only damage off Luzardo came in the third, when he threw 35 of his 104 pitches and four of Chicago¡¯s first five hitters reached. That stretch included a two-run triple by Patrick Wisdom, but Luzardo did not allow further damage.

In his first four starts, opponents hit Luzardo much harder the second time through the batting order (.419/.486/.968, 36 plate appearances) compared to the first time (.100/.222/.133, 36 PAs). The Cubs¡¯ rally in the third came on their second time through.

Luzardo credited a conversation with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre after the third to help get back on the track and finish the afternoon strong.

¡°Just got to get in the zone and keep attacking,¡± Luzardo said of that conversation. ¡°And I feel like my mentality kind of changed. Just trust the stuff and let them hit it.¡±

Luzardo faced the minimum over his final three innings. Dansby Swanson reached on an error in the sixth, but he was caught trying to steal.

Saturday afternoon was a continuation of an impressive start to De La Cruz¡¯s season, while the Marlins hope Luzardo's outing proves to be something he builds off.

¡°I feel like I had two not-so-bad [starts] early, and then two really bad ones after that,¡± Luzardo said. ¡°This one just gets my feet back under me. Longest outing of the year for me and a stepping stone for me moving forward.¡±

Said Schumaker: ¡°We know he¡¯s a dude, and he¡¯s acting like the dude. I don¡¯t know what it was the last couple of starts, but that¡¯s more of the ace that we¡¯re used to.¡±