Pete Crow-Armstrong hits inside-the-park homer to lead Cubs past Marlins 6-3

MIAMI (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit an inside-the-park home run and the Chicago Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 6-3 on Friday night.

Ian Happ and Miguel Amaya also homered for the Cubs (64-65), who began a nine-game road trip.

Crow-Armstrong’s 14.08 seconds home to home is the fastest in the major leagues since Byron Buxton’s 13.85 on Aug. 18, 2017 as a member of the Minnesota Twins.

“You never really have control over what happens after a moment like that, especially me. I’m kind of quick to react.” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’m just glad I made it home safe.”

Isaac Paredes’ run-scoring double against Marlins reliever Brett de Geus (0-2) in the eighth snapped a 3-3 tie. Amaya then connected with a two-run drive off Kent Emanuel in the ninth.

Porter Hodge (2-1) worked 1 1/3 innings of relief for the win before Jorge López pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

Cubs relievers got the final 13 outs and limited the Marlins to one hit. López has allowed one run in nine appearances in August.

“Just a good win, the bullpen did a heck of a job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We got some big hits from the bottom of the lineup again. It’s a great way to start the road trip.”

The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 46-82 and will end with their 24th losing season in the franchise’s 32-year history.

Miami chased Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks after Kyle Stowers walked with the bases loaded to tie it 3-3 in the fifth.

Happ’s two-run blast capped a three-run third that put the Cubs ahead 3-1. He drove a slider from Marlins starter Max Meyer over the wall in center for his 23rd homer.

Earlier in the third, Crow-Armstrong tied it with his sprint around the bases. His drive to the warning track got past right fielder Jesús Sánchez and caromed toward right-center, where centerfielder Derek Hill retrieved it and threw it to second baseman Otto López. Crow-Armstrong beat López’s relay throw with a head-first slide at the plate.

“When I saw the ball kick, I put my head down and started running,” Crow-Armstrong said. “At that point the ball’s already behind me.”

Jonah Bride’s RBI single in the third narrowed the deficit to 3-2 for Miami.

The 25-year-old Meyer completed six innings, allowing three runs and six hits. The right-hander walked two and struck out two. Miami manager Skip Schumaker credited Meyer, the third overall selection in the 2020 draft, for increasing the use of his change-up against Chicago.

“We want him to throw that more in general,” Schumaker said. “We think it can be a real weapon. I’m proud of him to throw it with confidence. It’s only going to get better. He needs something a little bit slower to get guys off his fastball and slider.”

Hendricks gave up three runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

“It was a grind today to be honest,” Hendricks said. “I’m just glad I stayed with it mentally. Grinded it out and kept the guys in the game.”

Miami shortstop Xavier Edwards exited the game after the second because of lower back discomfort. Edwards singled in his at-bat to lead off the first and stole second. He then took his position in the second inning but was pinch hit for by Vidal Brujan when his turn came up again in the third.

Schumaker said Edwards felt the discomfort after the stolen base and will undergo an imaging test on Saturday.

ROSTER MOVES

Before the game, the Cubs recalled infielder Luis Vazquez from Triple-A Iowa and designated infielder David Bote for assignment. They also claimed right-handed pitcher Gavin Hollowell off waivers from Arizona and optioned him to Iowa.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: LHP Jordan Wicks (oblique) threw a bullpen session on Friday.

Marlins: LHP Braxton Garrett (left forearm flexor strain) and LHP Ryan Weathers (left index finger strain) threw their second bullpen sessions on Friday. . LHP Josh Simpson (left elbow ulnar neuritis) will have his second rehab outing with Triple-A Jacksonville on Saturday.

UP NEXT

LHP Shota Imanaga (9-3, 3.11) gets the start for the Cubs in the second game of the series on Saturday, while RHP Valente Bellozo (2-1, 2.45) starts for the Marlins.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Chicago Cubs outfielders Ian Happ, left, Pete Crow-Armstrong, center and Cody Bellinger celebrate after the Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 6-3, in a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, left, tags out Miami Marlins' Vidal Bruján after Bruján attempted to steal second during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Chicago Cubs' Kyle Hendricks delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ leaps up to catch a ball hit by Miami Marlins' Jesús Sánchez during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Marlins' Max Meyer delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki, of Japan, pops out during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Marlins second base Vidal Bruján, left, is unable to make the tag as Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson (7) steals second base during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Chicago Cubs' Miguel Amaya is congratulated by teammates after he hit a home run scoring Pete Crow-Armstrong during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

BOSTON (AP) — A study that explores the feasibility of using pigeons to guide missiles and one that looks at the swimming abilities of dead fish were among the winners Thursday of this year’s Ig Nobels, the prize for comical scientific achievement.

Held less than a month before the actual Nobel Prizes are announced, the 34th annual Ig Nobel prize ceremony at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was organized by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine’s website to make people laugh and think. Winners received a transparent box containing historic items related to Murphy’s Law — the theme of the night — and a nearly worthless Zimbabwean $10 trillion bill. Actual Nobel laureates handed the winners their prizes.

“While some politicians were trying to make sensible things sound crazy, scientists discovered some crazy-sounding things that make a lot of sense,” Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of the magazine, said in an e-mail interview.

The ceremony started with Kees Moliker, winner of 2003 Ig Noble for biology, giving out safety instructions. His prize was for a study that documented the existence of homosexual necrophilia in mallard ducks.

“This is the duck,” he said, holding up a duck. “This is the dead one.”

After that, someone came on stage wearing a yellow target on their chest and a plastic face mask. Soon, they were inundated with people in the audience throwing paper airplanes at them.

Then, the awards began — several dry presentations which were interrupted by a girl coming on stage and repeatedly yelling “Please stop. I'm bored.” The awards ceremony was also was broken up by an international song competition inspired by Murphy's Law, including one about coleslaw and another about the legal system.

The winners were honored in 10 categories, including for peace and anatomy. Among them were scientists who showed a vine from Chile imitates the shapes of artificial plants nearby and another study that examined whether the hair on people's heads in the Northern Hemisphere swirled in the same direction as someone's hair in the Southern Hemisphere.

Other winners include a group of scientists who showed that fake medicine that causes side effects can be more effective than fake medicine that doesn't cause side effects and one showing that some mammals are cable of breathing through their anus — winners who came on stage wearing a fish-inspired hats.

Julie Skinner Vargas accepted the peace prize on behalf of her late father B.F. Skinner, who wrote the pigeon-missile study. Skinner Vargas is also the head of the B.F. Skinner Foundation.

“I want to thank you for finally acknowledging his most important contribution,” she said. “Thank you for putting the record straight.”

James Liao, a biology professor at the University of Florida, accepted the physics prize for his study demonstrating and explaining the swimming abilities of a dead trout.

“I discovered that a live fish moved more than a dead fish but not by much,” Liao said, holding up a fake fish. “A dead trout towed behind a stick also flaps its tail to the beat of the current like a live fish surfing on swirling eddies, recapturing the energy in its environment. A dead fish does live fish things.”

Professor James Liao displays a stuffed fish while accepting a prize for physics for demonstrating and explaining the swimming abilities of a dead trout during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A team of researchers perform a demonstration during a performance showing that many mammals are capable of breathing through their anus while accepting the 2024 Ig Nobel prize in physiology at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

People in the audience throw paper airplanes toward the stage during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FILE - Students walk past the "Great Dome" atop Building 10 on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, Mass, April 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)