SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Matt Mieske wasn't happy with the call. He was, however, happy with the result.

J.T. Snow's 11th-inning error on Mieske's hard-hit grounder allowed two runs to score as the Houston Astros beat San Francisco 4-2 Sunday, snapping the Giants' five-game winning streak.

	J.T. Snow loses his glove while trying to field an errant throw from Giants closer Robb Nen in the 11th. The error led to two unearned runs and a 4-2 loss to the Astros.

"At least we won. That's good."

Moises Alou singled to open the 11th and Glen Barker reached on a sacrifice bunt when Robb Nen (1-3) threw the ball away at first, allowing Alou to move to third.

Nen got Mike Meluskey to fly out, but Mieske, batting for Jay Powell (1-1), hit a sharp grounder against a drawn-in infield that went off Snow's glove into short right field.

"There's no way you can practice that ball," said Snow, a five-time Gold Glove winner. "It took a nasty spin off the end of the bat. I can get that ball a hundred times and still not catch it. In extra innings, a screwy play is always involved."

Houston first baseman Jeff Bagwell said the ball took a strange bounce.

"It was just a lucky break for us," he said. "The ball bounced in the dirt in front of him, then took off on him.

"That's not an error. To win with a lucky hop off the ground is a nice way to get luck back on our side. We haven't gotten many breaks at all."

Powell pitched two scoreless innings of relief for his first victory since Sept. 7 at Philadelphia.

"Wins really don't mean much to me," Powell said. "It would mean more if Shane (Reynolds) got the win. It just showed the bullpen was able to hold them down."

Doug Henry got the final three outs for his first save since Sept. 23 at Pittsburgh as Houston ended a three-game losing streak.

"I'll take them when I can get them," Henry said. "It's nice to do what we're supposed to do. Right now we have to get our closer (Billy Wagner) back on track. We just have to pick him up."

Jeff Kent put the Giants ahead in the first with his 18th homer, a two-run drive off Reynolds. Kent leads the NL with 66 RBI, the most by a Giants player in the first half of the season since Barry Bonds had 68 in 1996.

The San Francisco second baseman has at least one RBI in his last 10 games. Kent has driven in 22 runs in the first 15 games of June.

Bill Spiers led off the game with a single for the Astros, but Joe Nathan did not allow another hit until Craig Biggio began the sixth with his fourth homer. Bagwell walked and scored when Daryle Ward hit a double to the deepest part of Pacific Bell Park, 421 feet in right-center.

"Maybe the law of averages was on their side," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "It's tough to lose a game like this. That's probably one of the toughest plays. The ball is spinning off the end of the bat."

Nathan allowed four hits and six walks in 6 1/3 innings, while Reynolds gave up five hits and three walks in seven innings, striking out a season-high eight.

After Spiers singled, Biggio walked, but Nathan got the next three batters. He retired 10 in a row before Biggio's home run.

San Francisco loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth on a single and two walks, but Armando Rios grounded out. Kent flew out with the bases loaded in the 10th.

Game notes
Giants 3B Bill Mueller was scratched from the starting lineup with stomach cramps. He was replaced by Russ Davis. ... Sunday's game was the finale of 24 straight in the state of California (three in Oakland, three in Anaheim) dating to May 22 for San Francisco. The Giants play 13 of their next 19 on the road, including six at St. Louis. ... Former San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Astros 3B Ken Caminiti, on the 15-day disabled list with a right wrist injury, will have surgery Monday to repair tendon damage. ... Giants OF Ellis Burks left the game in the fourth with irritation in his right knee. ... Astros OF Richard Hidalgo left in the seventh with a sprained right knee. ... Reynolds has a 2.08 ERA in June and remains unbeaten on the road (4-0) in nine starts.