Miles: Cardinals quiet raucous Cubs' crowd in ninth

Wrigley Field rocked as loudly as it has rocked in some years Wednesday night.

Nothing like a meaningful Cubs-Cardinals series in midseason to get the joint to jumping.

There was a whole lot of jumping going on as the Cubs rallied from a 4-0 fourth-inning deficit to take a 5-4 lead in the sixth on Miguel Montero's 3-run double to the gap in right-center.

However, things turned silent in the ninth when the Cardinals' Jhonny Peralta hit a two-out, 2-run homer on a 1-2 pitch from Pedro Strop to help St. Louis win 6-5 and upstage the home team's comeback before 37,993 fans.

“It's baseball, man, it happens,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who consistently refuses to lose his cool after a tough loss. “We've done it to other teams. They did it to us. We just failed to execute a pitch, and it's a homer. The guy can do that to you.”

Strop got two quick outs before he got over-amped and walked Matt Carpenter to set up the home run.

“I should have attacked him,” said Strop, who downplayed the idea he was overly excited. “Maybe other people could see it that way. I don't know what to say on that one. I was off in my command.

The Cubs wound up with a 2-2 series split with the first-place Cardinals, and Maddon remained positive.

“Regardless of all that, I'm really pleased with the way we played tonight,” he said. “I thought it was an outstanding night what we did coming back.”

The game wasn't without other worries for the Cubs.

Starting pitcher Jason Hammel left after one inning because of left-hamstring tightness. Hammel has been effective all year, right behind Jake Arrieta and ahead of Jon Lester.

Lefty Clayton Richard, who started last Saturday against the Marlins, came on in relief and gave up 2 runs in each of the second and fourth innings before being relieved by Travis Wood, who worked 3 solid innings.

Hammel, who will go for an MRI, said he felt it on the second pitch of the game.

“Just felt a sharp pain in the back of the knee,” he said. “MRI tomorrow, and we'll figure out more exactly what it is.”

The Cubs started their comeback in the fourth inning. Anthony Rizzo led off with a single, and he came home on Kris Bryant's triple to right center. After Jorge Soler struck out, Starlin Castro grounded the ball to first baseman Dan Johnson. Castro wound up with an RBI single because pitcher Michael Wacha failed to get off the mound to cover first base.

Singles by Dexter Fowler and Rizzo in the sixth were followed by a popout by Bryant. Soler singled off the pitcher before Castro was called out on strikes.

Montero worked the count to 3-2. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and manager Mike Matheny both were ejected by home-plate umpire Pat Hoberg, apparently because they were upset by balls-and-strikes calls during the at-bat.

“It was definitely a good feeling,” Montero said of his hit and the huge crowd reaction. “I've had good opportunities to help the team, and I really haven't capitalized. It was awesome to hit that double and clear the bases, but at the end of the night, it's a loss. A loss is a loss. I'm not really happy about it.”