NAMES AND NUMBERS

* REDEMPTION: Despite his 60 saves the last two years, Jeff Russell was the last major free agent to sign during the winter. Amid concerns about his elbow, he was sought and then snubbed by the Angels, among others, and finally signed a one-year, $500,000 contract with the Boston Red Sox. Russell now appears to be a bargain, converting all 12 of his save opportunities and helping the Red Sox go 24-0 in games they’ve led in the eighth inning.

* POWER OUTAGE: The Baltimore Orioles have used eight players in the cleanup spot, and were without a home run from any of the eight until Leo Gomez connected last Sunday.

* ON SECOND THOUGHT: Dallas Green’s wife, Sylvia, is vacationing in Tibet and still doesn’t know her husband accepted the thankless job of managing the New York Mets. Green probably wishes he was with her. The Mets were matched against Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Steve Avery, Tommy Greene and Curt Schilling in his first five games and lost four.

Schilling, recognizing an elixir when he sees one, climbed out of a sickbed to face the Mets and pitched the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-2 victory Tuesday night. He is 6-1 with a National League-leading four complete games, 14 in 36 starts since he was stolen from the Houston Astros for Jason Grimsley in April of last year. He is 20-12 as a Phillie.

* STRUGGLE: In bringing Orestes Destrade, a Cuban, back from Japan, and signing Benito Santiago, a Puerto Rican, to a two-year, $7.2-million contract, the Florida Marlins were hoping they would help excite Miami’s large Latino community and stimulate the offense. Each, however, has been hearing boos.

Destrade had a .240 batting average through Friday and had only two homers compared to the 154 he hit during four seasons in Japan. Santiago, still remembering the boos of San Diego, was batting .227.

“They seem to dig themselves deeper every day,” Florida batting coach Doug Rader said, adding that it’s more mental than mechanical. “Here you’ve got two guys trying to re-establish themselves as major league hitters while also acting as leaders of an expansion team and representatives of the Latin community. It’s a compounding emotional load.”

* HOT HAND: Manager Dusty Baker broke up a winning combination when he dropped Willie McGee from second to sixth in the San Francisco Giants’ batting order and elevated Robby Thompson from sixth to second, but it hasn’t slowed the Giants. They are 11-3 since the change, with McGee batting .488 (20 for 41) and Thompson .392 (20 for 51).

* NL WEST WARNING: Despite the strong start of the Giants and the re-emergence of the Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves are clearly contenders. The Braves are 28-22 through 50 games compared to 23-27 last season, when they went 53-18 in June and July.