BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : McDowell Figures It’s OK

Roger McDowell is already winning admirers in the Dodger clubhouse for being a good sport about his number change.

McDowell wore 13 with the Philadelphia Phillies, but when he joined the Dodgers he learned that coach Joe Ferguson has worn that number since his playing days began in 1970.

Instead of pressing the issue, McDowell shrugged and took No. 31.

“What the heck, if I look in the mirror, it’s 13,” McDowell said.

He added: “Really, I have no preference. I don’t care if I am 199. I changed my number when I went from New York to Philadelphia and it changed my luck. Maybe this will change my luck again.”

Now, the Dodgers need to figure out what to do if pitcher Jim Neidlinger is recalled from triple-A Albuquerque in September.

Neidlinger’s major league number is 31.

Kal Daniels continued his playful feud with mascots Friday when he threw three cups of water on Orbit, an oversized Astro creation.

The feud between Manager Tom Lasorda and several mascots is not so funny, however.

Lasorda, who has already criticized the Phillies’ mascot for destroying Dodger paraphernalia on the field, was not pleased Friday when Orbit tore up Dodger pennants in front of Lasorda.

However, Lasorda didn’t say anything, perhaps because there were a group of young girls on the field helping Orbit.

“Using the girls in my act was a calculated move, because I knew Tommy didn’t like what I was doing,” said Hal Katzman, the actor who wears the green Orbit costume. “I figured with the girls there, he would leave me alone.”

Jeff Hamilton said that he is tentatively scheduled to report to Albuquerque to begin his rehabilitation assignment at the end of this week. He will be in Michigan to be with his wife, Shelly, for the birth of their second child. . . . The young Astro team will have an interesting father-son game before today’s regular game. Only 13 of the 25 players are married, and they have a total of 10 children. Six of those children are younger than a year old. “This won’t be a father-son game, it will be an intrasquad game,” Luis Gonzalez said.

According to Forbes Magazine, Darryl Strawberry is the 34th best-paid athlete in the world with an income of $4.3 million this season in salary and endorsements. . . . There is a good chance the Dodgers will face two left-handed starters in four games in Cincinnati this week--Randy Myers and Tom Browning. Even though the Dodgers won two of three games against left-handed starters in their last series in Cincinnati, they are 22-19 against left-handed starters.