MIAMI -- Pete Crow-Armstrong wasted no time flashing all the tools that make him an exciting young player, crushing a ball with an exit velocity of 107.1 mph and reaching elite sprint speed while running the fastest home-to-home time of the season.

The Cubs¡¯ center fielder sparked Chicago¡¯s offense with an inside-the-park homer that was one of three home runs the team hit on its way to a 6-3 victory over the Marlins inside loanDepot park on Friday night.

¡°When I saw the ball kick, I just put my head down, and I started running,¡± Crow-Armstrong said. ¡°Because at that point, the ball is already behind me, better off putting my head down and going anyways. [Third-base coach] Willie [Harris] and I were on the exact same page.¡±

Crow-Armstrong led off the top of the third, smacking the first pitch he saw from Marlins starter Max Meyer to deep right field. Miami outfielder Jes¨²s S¨¢nchez hustled toward the line drive, but his outstretched glove could not snare the batted ball and Crow-Armstrong was off to the races.

? Paredes snaps slump with pivotal hit: 'Just makes you exhale'

While S¨¢nchez¡¯s momentum took him away from the play, the ball bounced on the warning track and ricocheted off the wall as Crow-Armstrong reached a sprint speed of 30.4 feet per second on his way to a game-tying inside-the-park home run.

¡°As soon as the ball kind of kicked back towards center field, and I think he was probably like halfway around first, then you knew it was a possibility,¡± Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. ¡°It was one of those plays where you're hoping Willie sent him no matter what, almost. It just felt like it was a play that everybody wanted to see happen in the stadium. And they completed the relay really well and they made it close, but it was fun to watch.¡±

Crow-Armstrong posted the fastest home-to-home time of the year at 14.08 seconds, which was the fastest time recorded since Byron Buxton ran around the bases in 13.85 seconds on his own inside-the-parker on Aug. 18, 2017.

¡°I coached Pete when he was 14 years old, I've known Pete for a long time,¡± Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. ¡°He was just as fast then. He's an incredible athlete. He's a really exciting young player at the Major League level, and can cover some ground in the outfield. He probably ran around in 14 or 15 seconds. I have no idea exactly what it was, but it's got to be one of the fastest times in the league.¡±

Two batters later, Ian Happ followed with a more traditional home run over the wall in left-center field. The two-run blast gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead in the top of the third inning.

The Marlins answered back, scoring a run in the bottom half of the third on a Jonah Bride RBI single and evening the score when reliever Tyson Miller issued a bases-loaded walk to Kyle Stowers.

But it was Isaac Paredes who came through when the Cubs needed a big hit, delivering a game-winning RBI double in the eighth.

The third baseman, who arrived in a deal with the Rays before the Trade Deadline, was mired in a slump entering the series opener in Miami. Paredes, who was 0-for-3 as he dug into the batter¡¯s box in the top of the eighth, ripped a 1-0 sinker from right-hander Brett de Geus into the left-field corner to score Seiya Suzuki and give the visiting Cubs the lead for good.

¡°I think it just makes you exhale as much as anything,¡± Counsell said. ¡°Just do something good and help you win. At the time, it was a huge hit against a tough, hard-throwing sinker baller.¡±

In the top of the ninth, Miguel Amaya belted the Cubs¡¯ third homer of the game, a two-run shot to center field that secured the three-run victory for Chicago.

¡°Just a good win,¡± Counsell said. ¡°The bullpen did a heck of a job. We got some big hits from the bottom of the lineup again. So, it's a great way to start a road trip.¡±