Watch Cubs' Ian Happ Hit Home Run On 1st Pitch Of 2018 Season

MIAMI, FL — The Chicago Cubs wasted no time showing they were serious about returning to the World Series this year. And all it took was one pitch during Opening Day of baseball's major league season Thursday.

Cubs center fielder Ian Happ hit a home run off the first pitch thrown in the 2018 World Series. Granted, he went deep off Jose Urena and the hapless Miami Marlins, a team that was gutted for payroll reasons in the offseason by the team's new ownership group led by former New York Yankee Derek Jeter. The game in Miami was the first to begin in Thursday's slate of Opening Day matchups.

The first pitch, leadoff home run was only the second in major league history. The only other time it happened was in 1986 when Boston Red Sox All-Star Dwight Evans homered off Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Morris, a future Hall of Famer.

Happ wasn't the only Cub to hit a homer early in Thursday's game. First baseman Anthony Rizzo knocked one out of the park in the second inning to put Chicago up 4-1.

The Marlins, however, were able to claw back and tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the third. But the Cubs were able to go ahead again in the fourth inning thanks to double by catcher Willson Contreras that scored third baseman Kris Bryant.

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The Cubs broke open the game in the top seventh inning thanks in part to a solo home run by left fielder Kyle Schwarber, whose dinger made up for some lackluster play in the field. By the end of the half-inning, Chicago was up 8-4.

And that was the final score as the Cubs earned their first win of the season.

Earlier Thursday, Rizzo spoke out against people who have attacked some of the student survivors of the February mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people. A Florida native, Rizzo is a graduate of the high school.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ rounds the bases after hitting a home run Thursday, March 29, on the first pitch of the 2018 Major League Baseball season during the Opening Day game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park in Miami. (Photo by Mark Brown | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images)