CHICAGO (AP) -- No one wanted to get this game in more than Pete
Munro.

The right-hander got his first major league hit and RBI, and
also won for the first time since July 23 as the Houston Astros
beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Tuesday in a game interrupted twice by
rain.

"We came in and Jeff Bagwell was like, `That would be a shame
if that first hit doesn't count,''' Munro said. "I started to take
that into consideration. It was like, `Man, let's go!'''

The game was eventually completed after almost two hours of
interruptions, but Munro still had to sweat out his victory as the
Cubs rallied after being down 5-0.

Joe Girardi's RBI single in the sixth made it 5-3, and Alex
Gonzalez hit a solo homer off of Billy Wagner to lead off the
ninth. But Wagner retired the next three batters, getting his 27th
save in 33 chances.

"He closed the game out today,'' Gonzalez said. "It's hard
task when you've got to go out and hit 98 mph. We had our work cut
out for us.''

Jeff Bagwell and Jose Vizcaino both drove in runs for the
Astros. Vizcaino also made a stellar defensive play, throwing out
Bill Mueller at home in the fifth inning as he tried to score from
second.

Munro (3-2), who'd lost his previous two starts, allowed one run
and seven hits in five innings.

Sammy Sosa extended his hitting streak to eight games, but the
Astros managed to halt his offensive barrage. He had homered five
times in the previous three games and driven in 16 runs.

Matt Clement (9-9) gave up five runs and seven hits in five
innings. He struck out seven and walked four, one intentionally.

"He labored a little bit today more than usual, but he gives us
a good chance to win,'' Cubs interim manager Bruce Kimm said. "He
had one inning where they got to him, and it was enough.''

Clement had given up only three earned runs in his previous
three starts, but the Astros knocked him around with a four-run
fourth inning.

Lance Berkman started it off with a double to right-center, and
Bagwell followed with an RBI double that rolled all the way to the
wall in center. Two outs later, Clement intentionally walked Geoff
Blum to get to Brad Ausmus, the No. 8 hitter.

"You've got the eighth hitter up who is a singles hitter and
the pitcher up next,'' Kimm said. "It was a no-brainer.''

But it backfired, as Ausmus singled up the gap to score Bagwell.
Munro and Vizcaino followed with RBI singles, and the Astros had a
5-0 lead.

"It didn't work out, but I could have made better pitches,''
Clement said, refusing to question the decision.

The Cubs got a run back in the bottom of the inning as Munro's
wild pitch forced in Moises Alou.

The rain began falling in the fifth inning, and the game was
halted three outs shy of being official. Munro came back out after
the 46-minute delay, but he didn't look as sharp as he did earlier.

He gave up a two-out double to Mueller and then Sosa singled to
shallow left. Vizcaino cut off Daryle Ward's throw and then hurled
the ball home, easily beating Mueller.

"You don't see that too often, the shortstop cutting the ball
off, but he did a good job,'' Munro said. "It worked out. He made
a great throw.''

The game was halted again in the bottom of the sixth, this time
for 56 minutes. When it resumed, Girardi hit a two-run single to
shallow left to start the Cubs' rally.

"If you want to start winning ball games, you've got to make
big defensive plays, you have to make big two-out hits and we did
that,'' Bagwell said. "We had that big inning, and that was enough
to hold up for us.''

Game notes
Houston utility player Orlando Merced, who agreed to a $1.7
million, one-year contract extension Tuesday, had an RBI single.
... Houston SS Adam Everett was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans
on Tuesday. He takes the spot of Julio Lugo, who will be out at
least six weeks with a broken forearm. ... Cubs OF Corey Patterson
turned 23 Tuesday.