NAMES AND NUMBERS

Frank Tanana, 18 1/2 years after his American League debut with the Angels, celebrated his 38th birthday Wednesday by pitching the Detroit Tigers to an 8-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Tanana, 6-6 overall, is 4-2 in his last seven starts with a 1.39 earned-run average. Of Tanana’s off-speed repertoire, Oriole first baseman Randy Milligan said: “A guy like that puts your timing off. He messes with your mind. By the time you’ve figured out how to hit against him, you’ve had three at-bats, the game is in the sixth inning and he’s up by five runs.”

Tuesday night’s Texas battery of Nolan Ryan, 44, and Ivan Rodriguez, 19, marked the first time a 40-or-older pitcher has thrown to a teen-age catcher since Art Fowler, then 41, and Ed Kirkpatrick, then 19, were teamed with the 1963 Angels.

Shy of pitching, the offensively potent Rangers might regret the decision to let Charlie Hough leave as a free agent, thinking he was a physical risk at 43. Hough has gone seven innings or more in 11 consecutive starts for the Chicago White Sox and is closing on the club’s record of 13 in a row set by Gary Peters in 1966.

Ramon Martinez of the Dodgers and Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves have comparable records and ERAs, but Tom Browning of the Reds believes Glavine should be the starting pitcher for the National League All-Stars. “There’s no doubt in my mind,” he said. “Glavine has been the most dominating pitcher of the first half.”

Red Sox Manager Joe Morgan said that a two-run home run hit by Cecil Fielder of the Tigers Thursday night was the longest he has ever seen at Boston’s Fenway Park, and Danny Darwin, who delivered the pitch, wondered if it landed in New Hampshire after clearing the left-field wall. Good thing Darwin hasn’t lost his sense of humor. The $11.8-million free agent has given up seven homers in the 17 innings of his last three starts, going 0-3 with a 7.13 ERA in that span. He has given up 15 homers overall and is 3-6, apparently adding his salary to the $15 million the Red Sox seem to have wasted on Jack Clark (.214, 29 runs batted in) and Matt Young (3-3 and on the disabled list).

Baltimore’s Cal Ripken Jr. will become the first American League shortstop to start eight All-Star games, surpassing Joe Cronin, who started seven while with the Red Sox and the Washington Senators. “This is the best first half I’ve ever had, so that makes this special because there’s no real controversy over whether I deserve to start, as there has been in some other years,” said Ripken, who leads the AL in hitting and is among the leaders in 11 offensive categories.