BASEBALL MISCELLANY

NUMBERS:

Jim Fregosi, who had always worn No. 11, was given No. 16 when he became the Chicago White Sox manager last year because No. 11 had been retired in tribute to shortstop Luis Aparicio. Now the White Sox are going to take another shirt off Fregosi’s back. They are going to retire No. 16 in tribute to pitcher Ted Lyons. Fregosi will switch to No. 18.

To what extent has major league pitching deteriorated? A year ago Wednesday, the Dodgers had a team earned-run average of 3.50 and ranked sixth in the National League. Their less attractive 3.71 ERA puts them first this season.

New York Mets Manager Dave Johnson dropped Kevin McReynolds from fourth to sixth in his batting order and returned Gary Carter to the cleanup role. McReynolds had hit .196 in that capacity while Carter hit .210 while in the sixth spot. “I’m soothing his ego,” Johnson said of Carter.

Willie Mays can wait. The Cincinnati Reds’ Eric Davis remains in a slump during which he has 7 hits in his last 55 at-bats.

Met reliever Doug Sisk no longer allows his wife to attend games at Shea Stadium became of fan abuse both have received there. Sisk has a 6.23 ERA at Shea, 1.24 on road.

Boston Red Sox cleanup hitter Jim Rice has four home runs, rookie leadoff hitter Ellis Burks has 10.

The San Francisco Giants’ six-game losing streak through Thursday included games started by opposing pitchers Rick Mahler, 3-7; Andy Hawkins, 2-7; Dave Dravecky, 1-6, and Storm Davis, 1-7.

The Cleveland Indians have employed 10 different relief pitchers without much success. Their cumulative ERA is 5.53. The larger concern is now starter Greg Swindell, who has a 3-6 record, 4.68 ERA and has yielded 17 homers in 92 innings. Only a year removed from the University of Texas, Swindell is also sidelined now by a strained shoulder muscle. The Indians hope he will miss only two starts.

The 12 strikeouts Roger Clemens recorded against the Indians Wednesday were the most since he struck out 20 Seattle Mariners April 29 of last year. The Boston Red Sox ace, struggling some at 5-6, has struck out 2.32 batters for every walk he’s issued. Last year, en route to a 24-4 record, he struck out 3.55 batters for every walk.

The Texas Rangers had a starting pitcher go seven innings or more only 18 times through their first 63 games. Charlie Hough fashioned 10 of the 18. In their last 24 games, the Ranger starters pitched 115 innings. The beleaguered relievers pitched 107.

The disintegrating Baltimore Orioles had lost 19 of their last 21 games through Friday and were without a complete game by a starting pitcher since May 18. The one constant was shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., who moved into seventh place on the all-time list by playing in his 832nd consecutive game Friday night. Ripken needs to remain in only until June of 1995 to match Lou Gehrig’s record streak of 2,130 consecutive games.