CHICAGO — Credit Wrigley Field with the assist Tuesday night as the Chicago Cubs walked off the Miami Marlins.

More specifically, credit the CROWD at Wrigley Field with an assist.

For a weeknight game in mid-May against the last-place Marlins, Cubs fans did what they do best — they showed up. More than 38,000 fans, to be exact.

And very few left entering the ninth inning, even with the Cubs trailing 4-2 heading into the final frame.

It was the energy — the buzz — from the Wrigley faithful that had Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner daydreaming about a walk-off well before it actually happened.

Quite the birthday gift for Hoerner, who turned 28 on Tuesday.

“It’s a really, really special thing,” Hoerner said. “And I don’t think it’s by chance that those things have happened at home. Momentum in baseball is kind of a funny thing. You can’t really try harder. … But you feel that energy starting to build.

“And I guess, as a player, it’s a kind of energy that -– it doesn’t make you nervous -– it makes you, like, excited about just what could happen. The excitement of what’s possible, and how fun that would be if we made this happen. And sometimes it doesn’t, but it did tonight, and it was a blast.”

So…Hoerner was really visualizing a potential Cubs walk-off in the top of the ninth when his team was trailing by two runs?

“I mean, I do it when I’m in the field. I guess I should be thinking about defense,” Hoerner joked. “The top of the ninth — you know who’s warming up in the bullpen [for the Marlins]. And you start playing situations out in your head — this and that situation with a guy on the base, and picturing the pitch you want, and what those moments feel like. It’s fun when it lines up.”

The Marlins began the ninth inning with a 91.3% chance to win the game but failed to capitalize on a rally in the top half of the frame when they put two runners on against Cubs reliever Chris Flexen.

In the bottom of the ninth, the tension — that energy Hoerner spoke of — began to mount in the favor of the home team. Carson Kelly reached on an error, Dansby Swanson walked and then Moisés Ballesteros grounded into a fielder’s choice.

[MORE: How Cubs prospect Moisés Ballesteros fits on team after call-up]

Hoerner stepped up and ripped the second pitch he saw into center field for an RBI single that also sent pinch-runner Vidal Bruján to third base with only one out.

That brought up Justin Turner, the oldest player on the Cubs roster and a veteran who has come through with so many clutch hits throughout his 17-year MLB career.

Turner connected on a slider that caught too much of the plate, looping it down the left-field line and sending the Cubs home winners.

That led to an outpouring of emotion from the Cubs, including Hoerner, who let fly a guttural yell as he rounded the bases and streaked toward home with the winning run on his birthday:

It was the release of emotion from a player who had visualized the exact moment in the top half of the inning.

“There’s a lot of time and effort that go into just giving yourself the best chance you can in those moments and in these games,” Hoerner said. “You gotta enjoy it when it does line up and it felt really good.”