Steve Trachsel didn’t go so far as to claim that the sonic boom from a low-flying Blue Angel jet over Wrigley Field cost the Cubs a game Sunday.
But the ear-piercing noise caused home plate umpire Jeff Nelson to nullify a strike Trachsel threw to Brad Ausmus. And Ausmus hit the next pitch for a run-scoring single in the four-run sixth inning that broke up the game won 13-3 by the Houston Astros.
Here was the situation:
The Astros led 4-2 and had men on first and second with nobody out. Jets taking part in the Air and Water Show had been buzzing Wrigley all day. But none came as low, nor sounded as loud, as the one that zoomed on a home-plate-to-center-field direction just as Trachsel fired a pitch over the plate with Ausmus at bat with a one-ball, one-strike count.
Nelson ruled it no pitch. An irate Trachsel asked him why.
“The ump told me, `Because that thing scared everybody in the park,’ ” Trachsel said. “I told him, `It didn’t scare me. They’ve been flying over here for three days, and I threw a strike.’
“So instead of being ahead of Ausmus 1-2 on the count, I was still even with him. That’s an important difference.”
Astros manager Larry Dierker agreed with the umpire about the scare factor.
“It was really scary,” Dierker said. “I thought the plane crashed into the stadium. I bet the Cubs are glad the show is over. The fans seemed to like it. But I didn’t think it was appropriate.”
Ausmus, who had four hits and five RBIs in the game, said, “I knew the show was going on all day, but that one was real close–right over the top.”
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Losing pitcher Trachsel (13-7) yielded seven runs and seven hits in five innings, but he was victimized by several cheap hits.
In the fourth inning, Ausmus hit a wind-aided three-run homer and scored behind Moises Alou and Ricky Gutierrez, both of whom reached on scratch singles in the infield.
“My catcher (Tyler Houston) and my coach (Phil Regan) kept telling me I was making good pitches,” Trachsel said. “But they went for hits. The Astros just have it working for them. At least I know I didn’t beat myself.”
Trachsel labored 113 pitches to go five innings and three batters into the sixth. He needed 97 pitches for the first five innings, one more than winner Jose Lima (13-6) had in his eight complete innings.