Sosa joins the club // Becomes 16th to hit 50 HRs, but Cubs are crushed again

Astros 13 Cubs 3

The Cubs' 13-3 pounding at the hands of the Houston Astrosseemed to take a back seat Sunday, but Sammy Sosa wouldn't have anyof that.

Sosa rocked a crowd of 38,714 at Wrigley Field - already buzzingfrom a Navy jet's fly-by - with his 50th and 51st home runs, makinghim just the 16th player and second Cub to reach the 50-homermilestone.

Sosa needs 11 homers in the Cubs' last 32 games to break RogerMaris' single-season record and six to break Hack Wilson's team mark.

But the number Sosa is more concerned with is one. That's howmany games behind the New York Mets the Cubs remained in thewild-card race after the Mets fell 4-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"I'm proud to be the first Latin American player to hit 50,"Sosa said. "But we can't stop now. We're only one game out. I knowwe have to get hot right now and try to win five or six in a row.

"I only have one idea, and that's keep swinging."

Sosa's 50th was as thunderous a blast as the Blue Angels fly-by,landing 440 feet away on Waveland Avenue in the fifth inning.

That cut the Astros' lead to 4-2, but they had tacked on nineruns by the time Sosa led off the eighth. No. 51, also off Houstonstarter Jose Lima (13-6), landed in the left-field seats.

"The score was 13-2, so who cares?" Lima said.

Lima, Sosa's teammate several years ago in the DominicanRepublic winter league, had no qualms in pitching to Sosa.

"I enjoyed the first homer myself," he said. "I was trying tostrike him out, but if I walk him, they'll boo me. I'd feel like achicken."

Perhaps the only thing scarier than facing Sosa was thedisruption in the sixth inning, when a Blue Angels jet taking part inthe Air and Water Show buzzed the park so closely - leveling off andzooming out just above rooftop height - the stadium and everyone init shook and shuttered.

Only Cubs starter Steve Trachsel (13-7) insisted he wasn'taffected, walking off the mound and complaining when umpire JeffNelson waved off a strike to Brad Ausmus.

"Guys were hitting the floor in our dugout," Houston managerLarry Dierker said. "I don't think it was appropriate at all."

"I didn't know what to think," said Ausmus, who promptly shookoff his jitters by hitting Trachsel's next and last pitch for an RBIsingle. It was the last of four hits - including a three-run homer -and five RBI for Ausmus. "I can't believe it flew that close. Whatare they going to do next - fire missiles at us?"

Trachsel was more upset at Ausmus' rocket afterward.

"That was a big situation in the game," he said. "I was able tomake a good pitch with that distraction, and the count went frombeing 1-2 to 1-1. The umpire basically said it scared the crap outof everyone. Sorry, it didn't scare me."

The Astros ended up with four runs in the inning. For the game,Trachsel was charged with seven and new reliever Rodney Myers withfive more in 1 1/3 innings.

Almost as remarkable as the drama on the field was an unfoldingstory in the stands. The crowd gave the Cubs an average of 39,410fans over their last 20 games - 508 more than the park's seatingcapacity.

But while attendance expands, time left in the playoff raceshrinks.

"I look at it as whether you're up by two or down by three, youstill have to win tomorrow," manager Jim Riggleman said.

That means salvaging the finale today against Houston, whichseemingly has locked up the National League Central title.

"I hope we don't get caught up in looking at the scoreboard andthinking, `Good, the Mets lost,' " Trachsel said. "The Giants (whotrail the Mets by three games) have an easier schedule left, and theMets have a tougher schedule. We're in the middle. (The wild card)is ours for the taking."