CHICAGO -- Not even the winter-like conditions at windy Wrigley Field could cool off one of the hottest pitchers in the National League. Caleb Smith seemed immune to the elements.

Pitching with short sleeves on a 41-degree night, Smith fanned a career-high 11 in 6 2/3 innings, and ran his string of quality starts to six consecutive outings. The left-hander continues to put himself in the conversation with the best, so far, in the NL.

But the night ended in walk-off fashion in the ninth as Kris Bryant crushed a two-out, three-run home run off Adam Conley to lift the Cubs to a 5-2 victory.

The teams have split the first two contests of the four-game series, and Miami had a string of four straight wins when Smith starts snapped.

• Box score

“It was a battle today,” Smith said. “We went out there and played hard. You can't ask any more of these guys. We went out there and played great defense. We swung the bat well. Just a couple of things didn't go our way. That's baseball.”

Facing a tough Cubs lineup, Smith allowed two runs on five hits and three walks. The left-hander was lifted after issuing a walk to Mark Zagunis with two outs in the seventh inning.

When manager Don Mattingly made the double-switch, Smith walked off the mound with a career-high 112 pitches.

“Caleb was good,” Mattingly said. “Honestly, [it was good] getting through this cold weather thing for him. He's had trouble in the weather. It was good to see him come out and pitch like that in this type of weather.”

Smith’s previous strikeout high was 10, set during his rookie season on April 22, 2018, at Milwaukee. Snow was on the ground that day at Miller Park, but since the ballpark has a roof, Smith pitched in more favorable conditions.

“That was a really good lineup,” Smith said. “It was a battle all the way through. That's huge.”

There was nothing remotely comforting related to the weather Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. The wind-chill factor made it feel like 30 degrees.

The chilly conditions, Smith said, only affected his ability to grip the baseball. Otherwise, he felt fine, even going with short sleeves.

“I just can't pitch in [long] sleeves,” Smith said. “I feel restricted. I'm not a fan of that. Actually, I wasn't cold at all. I didn't feel cold at all. It was hard to get a grip on the ball. I managed.”

Smith stayed hot in the no-decision. In his last five starts, he’s posted a 1.42 ERA over 31 2/3 innings, with 41 strikeouts and nine walks.

Miami managed two unearned runs off Cubs left-hander Jon Lester in the third inning. Martin Prado had an RBI double, and Jorge Alfaro drove home a run with a single.

The Cubs did get to Smith for a run in the first inning on Bryant’s one-out triple and Javier Baez’s sacrifice fly. In the third inning, Albert Almora Jr. connected on a home run to tie the game at 2. Smith promptly fanned the next three, and had a string of five K’s in a row. He opened the seventh inning by striking out Jason Heyward on an slider, and Kyle Schwarber became his 11th strikeout victim by attempting to bunt his way on with two strikes.

“I felt a little off,” Smith said, “Particularly early. I haven't been too good in cold weather in the past. I fought through it. It was a close game.”

At his high pitch count, in a 2-2 game, and with Zagunis on first, the Marlins weren’t about to push the 27-year-old left-hander any further. He previously hadn’t thrown more than 107 pitches in a game, which came on June 13, 2018, vs. San Francisco.

“My expectation every time I step out on the field is to finish the game,” Smith said. “I want to be out there for every pitch. I want to be out there for nine innings. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that.”