MIAMI -- The Chicago Cubs are more popular than ever -- even on the road.

That was certainly the case on Saturday afternoon as Javier Baez drove in three runs in the Cubs' 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.

There were thousands of Cubs fans in the stands, but the decibel level went up in the ninth inning as the crowd reacted to an otherwise routine pinch-hitting appearance by Anthony Rizzo, who grew up less than one hour from Marlins Park.

"I didn't even realize we were doing that for him," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of the noise given in support of Rizzo, who is normally a starter at first base. "I was looking around, 'Did somebody walk in the door? Is it A-Rod and J-Lo?'"

Nope, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez weren't causing a scene. It was just Rizzo, who lined out to shortstop.

Even so, it was still a great day for the Cubs. Baez, who led all Cubs hitters with a .302 batting average in May, delivered a tiebreaking, two-run double in the sixth inning.

Jon Lester (5-4) picked up the win and has now defeated 29 of the 30 teams in the majors. The only exception is the Boston Red Sox, a team he played for and has never faced.

Facing Miami for the fifth time on Saturday, Lester pitched seven innings and allowed four hits, one walk and three runs as the Cubs (38-36) took a 2-1 lead in the weekend series that concludes Sunday.

Lester retired 18 of the last 20 batters he faced.

Carl Edwards then pitched a scoreless eighth and Wade Davis did the same in the ninth for his 15th save of the year.

Miami (33-40) was led by J.T. Realmuto, who cranked a three-run homer, his seventh long ball of the season.

"He should be under consideration for the All-Star Game," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of Realmuto. "But, as a manager, you see that there is more to his game."

Mattingly also had a comment on the pro-Cubs crowd.

"It's not a great situation," he said. "I don't think it has anything to do with how we play. But it would be nice to have a packed crowd with Marlins fans so that Cubs fans or Mets fans can't get tickets. But that's not the case."

Marlins starter Justin Nicolino allowed seven hits and three runs (two earned) in four innings, escaping with a no-decision. Reliever Nick Wittgren (1-1) took the loss, allowing two runs in one inning.

Chicago got to Nicolino right away. Leadoff batter Jon Jay, a former University of Miami standout, singled in the first and advanced to second when center fielder Christian Yelich bobbled the ball. Jay moved to third on Wilson Contreras' single and scored on a two-out, opposite-field hit by Ian Happ.

Miami grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the first. After Giancarlo Stanton walked and Yelich singled, Realmuto lofted his three-run homer to left.

"I hung a curveball," Lester said. "We were careful with Stanton on a 3-2 curveball, walked him. Then we had the lefty (Yelich), and I didn't make my pitch."

After Realmuto's homer, Lester retired the next 13 batters consecutively.

That gave Chicago's offense an opportunity to rally, and the Cubs tied the score 3-3 with two runs in the fourth. Addison Russell singled, advanced on a Happ sacrifice bunt and scored on Baez's single to left. Albert Almora, a Miami native, capped the inning with an RBI opposite-field double.

The Cubs took a 5-3 lead in the sixth as the first three batters in the inning all got hits. Russell doubled, Happ singled and Baez had his two-run double off the wall in right.

All five of Chicago's RBIs came on opposite-field hits, which pleased Maddon. Happ, who has eight hits in the series so far, seems particularly adept at going the other way.

"I'm just trying to get these guys to realize that there is more than one side to a baseball field," Maddon said of Happ and the other young Cubs hitters. "As we do that, we will hit better in situations. That's the key to being able to drive in runs."

NOTES: Former Florida State running back Dalvin Cook, the Minnesota Vikings' second-round pick, threw out the first pitch. ... Marlins SS Adeiny Hechavarria (oblique) may be ready to come off the disabled list on Tuesday against the New York Mets. ... Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (tendinitis) is hoping to return before next month's All-Star Game. ... Cubs 2B Ben Zobrist (left wrist inflammation) was eligible to come off the disabled list on Friday, but his return is not imminent. ... The Cubs have won 11 fewer games than last year at this same point, and most of that can be traced to the rotation. Last year, Cubs starters had a 2.36 ERA compared with 4.45 now. ... The Marlins signed their top three draft picks, including first-rounder LHP Trevor Rogers. Also on that list is 3B Joe Dunand, who is Alex Rodriguez's nephew.