Pence Thrills Fans As Astros Win Again

Houston Astros' Hunter Pence swings for a solo home run in the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game Wednesday, May 16, 2007 in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (Pat Sullivan - AP)

Eight-pound, 14-ounce C.J. Sampson was born Tuesday night.

"I was on Cloud 9," Sampson said of getting his first win after becoming a father. "It was an unbelievable experience. I told a few of the guys: 'C.J.'s pretty good luck. He was born at 8:15 p.m. last night and we won last night and won today. So C.J.'s 2-0.'"

Dan Wheeler pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save in 10 tries and then presented Sampson the ball from the last out.

"He came in and said 'Here's a little keepsake for your son,'" Sampson said. "I'll give that to him for Daddy's first win."

Rookie Fred Lewis tripled and scored on Ryan Klesko's double to give the Giants a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Sampson then walked Bonds before getting Ray Durham to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Sampson retired 11 of the next 12 batters. He was helped by some nifty fielding during that stretch that included a leaping catch by third baseman Mark Loretta and Lance Berkman's sliding grab of a hard-hit grounder to first.

Loretta singled in a run in the third to tie it at 1.

Giants starter Noah Lowry (4-4) pitched his first complete game of the season and first since Aug. 21. He allowed eight hits and two runs, struck out three and walked four. It was the seventh time in his first eight starts that he worked into at least the seventh inning.

"What a great effort," Bochy said. "That's a tough one for him to lose. He did all he could. We just got shut down, it's pretty simple. We didn't get a hit when we needed it and the last three innings, I don't think we got a guy on base."

Former closer Brad Lidge pitched a perfect seventh for Houston and lefty Trever Miller retired the Giants in order in the eighth.

Notes:@ Randy Winn had two hits for the Giants to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games. ... Lowry has a 3-1 career mark against the Astros. ... Houston's Carlos Lee was 0-for-4, a day after hitting two home runs.