Cleveland Indians in hunt for worst record | Larry Stone notebook

In the race for the No. 1 draft pick in 2011 — i.e., the worst record in 2010 — don't sleep on the Cleveland Indians.

One observer described their lineup as "spare parts and Triple-A players," with two bona fide major-leaguers — Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera, both courtesy of the Mariners.

Entering Thursday night's game — a win over the A's — the Indians had lost five in a row and been outscored 30-4 in those games. They had just three extra-base hits in that span, and two of their four runs were unearned.

Another gruesome stat: Since Aug. 5, the Indians' starting pitchers were 1-14 until Justin Masterson's win on Thursday.

And this: Twice this month, the Indians started a lineup that included a cleanup hitter with no homers or runs batted in. Starting catcher Lou Marson was hitting .188 in almost 200 at-bats.

It sounds Mariners-like — except the Mariners took two out of three in Cleveland on their recent trip.

The Indians lead the league in errors, and have the lowest attendance. The seven smallest crowds in the history of Progressive Field — which was routinely sold out in the glory days, when it was known as Jacobs Field — have come this season.

Young Astros

are winning

The Houston Astros, since dumping veterans Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, are playing with eight rookies — Fernando Abad, Mark Melancon, Jason Castro, Chris Johnson, Tommy Manzella, Angel Sanchez, Brett Wallace and Wilton Lopez. They have 15 players under the age of 30.

And, lo and behold, they are winning. The Astros beat the Phillies 5-1 on Thursday to complete a four-game sweep and move to 14-10 since the trade deadline, 26-18 since July 5, and 41-35 since June 1. Much credit to first-year manager Brad Mills for pulling the team through a 16-33 start without disintegrating.

Notes and quotes

• The season of Pittsburgh's Ross Ohlendorf is likely over because of a shoulder injury, meaning he'll finish 1-11 with a 4.07 earned-run average in 21 starts. No pitcher has had a record that bad with a lower ERA since Anthony Young went 2-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 52 games (13 starts) for the Mets in 1993. The Mariners' Ryan Rowland-Smith is 1-10 with a more appropriate 6.96 ERA.

• Here's another weird baseball injury: The Royals believe Luke Hochevar's latest elbow problems stem from being overly aggressive during batting practice at Fenway Park.

According to The Kansas City Star, during a late May series in Boston, the Royals pitchers took batting practice to prepare for upcoming interleague games. They began to take aim at the Green Monster, swinging harder and harder as BP progressed. The next thing anyone knew, Hochevar was on the DL.

"That was just me being stupid," Hochevar told The Star.

• Here's a happier pitching story from Kansas City: Reliever Phil Humber was credited with the victory Wednesday when the Royals rallied to beat the Tigers, 4-3, in 12 innings.

It was the first major-league win for Humber, and it came more than six years after the Mets made him the third overall pick in the 2004 draft.

Humber has since drifted through three clubs over the past five seasons, and didn't have any decisions in 21 career appearances. He worked three scoreless innings to beat the Tigers.

"When you're a minor-league free agent," he said, "it's not like you can think you're always going to get chances. You have to have opportunities up here to get a win. I'm just really thankful and excited."

• When Tim Wakefield lost to the Mariners on Wednesday, he dropped to 3-10 for the season. He has now had 12 seasons of at least 10 losses. But he has nothing on Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry and Warren Spahn, each of whom had 17.

• Kendry Morales started the first 51 games of the season at first base for the Angels. Since he fractured his ankle celebrating a grand slam against the Mariners, the Angels have played 77 games — and started eight different first basemen.

The list includes Kevin Frandsen, Paul McAnulty, Mike Napoli, Robb Quinlan, Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick and Michael Ryan. And now you can add Juan Rivera, an outfielder who made his first two career starts at first base this past week.