HOUSTON -- Before Tuesday's game, Hunter Pence received a text message from his brother, Howard, that said, "Hit one for the new H.P."

Howard's wife, Allison, had just delivered the couple's first child, a daughter they named Hayley. Howard sent Hunter a picture of the newborn along with that text message, and a couple of hours later, an elated uncle Hunter adhered to his brother's instructions.

Pence hit a grand slam that put his team ahead in the fourth inning, and it eventually would count as the game-winner in a 4-2 win over the Cubs.

Pence said he wasn't thinking about that promise to his brother when he strode to the plate, but it hit him later, after the game was over.

"You get focused on the game and you don't remember those things," Pence said. "After the game was over, I thought about it. I said, 'I can't wait to meet my new niece.' And then I thought, 'You know what? I had a pretty good game on the day she was born.'"

Pence said he was hoping for a mention in the newspaper, so he could clip it and show it to Hayley some day.

"I just hope in the future I can show that to her and say, 'Look, you helped me out,'" Pence said, beaming.