It really was just an ordinary Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, or at least it started that way.
The Cubs had gotten off to a decent start to 1998 after a 94-loss season in 1997. Entering the May 6, 1998 game against the first-place Astros, the Cubs were 16-15 and four games out of first place, and had lost the first of a two-game series to Houston the previous day, 10-5.
Taking the mound for the Cubs that Wednesday was Kerry Wood, a highly-touted rookie who had made just four previous major-league starts.