BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Names and Numbers

* BIG BEN: The Baltimore Orioles have averaged 7.5 runs in Ben McDonald’s 6-0 start, but that doesn’t diminish his accomplishment. He was 13-14 last year when his support was fourth worst among American League starting pitchers. He has held the opposition to three runs or fewer in 46 of his last 54 starts.

“Pitching coaches and other pitchers talked to me a lot, but for me there is no substitute for experience,” McDonald said. “It never really sunk in until I got out on the mound and did it myself, experienced some failure, had some success.”

* KEEPING PACE: Wilson Alvarez of the Chicago White Sox is also 6-0 and has won 13 consecutive decisions since returning from last season’s minor league demotion. He led the American League in walks when sent down but has a 1.97 earned-run average and has walked only 18 in 41 1/3 innings during his streak. Most scouts consider him the league’s No. 2 power left-hander behind Randy Johnson.

“Now I can walk a guy and it’s nothing for me,” he said. “I know I can throw strikes and challenge hitters more. That’s what works for me.”

* MARCH OF TIME: Jack Morris celebrates his 39th birthday May 16, but the Cleveland Indians aren’t in a party mood. Morris, in five starts since beating the Seattle Mariners in his Cleveland debut on April 7, is 0-3 with an 8.01 ERA. The Indians have three hot pitchers in triple A--Albie Lopez, Julian Tavarez and Chad Ogea--and there is suspicion that Morris might not reach 90 innings, at which point he receives $500,000, the first of his $2.25 million in incentives.

“What concerns me is the lack of consistency in the location of his pitches,” Manager Mike Hargrove said of Morris. “It’s a concern that a pitcher with his experience is missing by that much.”

* BELCH AS IN . . . Former Dodger Tim Belcher, one of the last free agents to sign, has yet to return a dividend on the $3.4-million contract he signed with the generous Detroit Tigers. He is 0-5 with a 9.91 ERA and has survived the fifth inning only twice in six starts.

“Somebody said that when it rains it pours,” Belcher said. “This is more like a drowning.”

* MENTAL GAME: Kevin Brown was 0-4 with a 10.86 ERA as the Texas Rangers’ ace when he resumed communication with psychologist Harvey Dorfman. Brown is 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA in two starts since.

“Sometimes you need to be reminded of what you have to do,” he said. “It’s a full circle of things.”