BASEBALL MISCELLANY : NAMES AND NUMBERS

Picking His Spots: After losing to the Chicago Cubs Thursday, San Diego Padres left-hander Bruce Hurst has a 1-6 record with a 4.14 earned-run average against teams with winning records. He is 6-1 with a 1.75 ERA against teams with losing records.

Picking Spots II: After defeating the Minnesota Twins Thursday, Boston Red Sox right-hander Roger Clemens has a 9-1 record against teams with losing records and is 1-5 against teams with winning records.

Alone at the Top: While the Milwaukee Brewers’ Rob Deer and the Kansas City Royals’ Bo Jackson face a number of challengers in the battle for the American League home run title, they have turned the strikeout race into a two-man affair. Deer, who set the AL record with 186 in 1987, had 100 strikeouts in 317 at-bats opening the second half. Jackson had 96 in 312 at-bats.

New Goal: Royal first baseman George Brett had a string of 13 All-Star appearances, the longest among active players, snapped this year, but Brett is looking forward to next year’s game in Wrigley Field. “That’s a place I’ve never played,” he said. “I’d love to come back and make it.”

Schooling: Cub outfielder Jerome Walton opened the second half by going four for four Thursday against the Padres, but he was also picked off first, thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple and thrown out attempting to steal home. “He can hit, he can throw and he can also run,” Manager Don Zimmer said. “He just has to learn when.”

Cubs II: Greg Maddux has supplanted the Dodgers’ Tim Leary as baseball’s best hitting pitcher. He has hit safely in seven of his last 10 starts and is 13 for 43 this season, a .302 average. Leary, who hit .269 last year, is two for 33, an .061 average.