BASEBALL MISCELLANY : NAMES AND NUMBERS

Big Series: With a hundred friends and relatives from hometown Sacramento watching, the Milwaukee Brewers’ rookie outfielder, Greg Vaughn, had two memorable days in Oakland last week, hitting a three-run homer off Bob Welch Tuesday and a pair of two-run homers Wednesday--one off Dave Stewart and the other off Dennis Eckersley, depriving the former of his 20th victory and the latter his 30th save.

More Vaughn: The 24-year-old power hitter had 26 homers and 92 runs batted in at Denver when recalled in mid-August to replace the injured Rob Deer. Vaughn has maintained that pace with the Brewers, batting .320 with five homers and 20 RBIs in 26 games. The performance is said to have made either Deer or Glenn Braggs expendable, although Deer didn’t need Vaughn’s help. He is two for 46 since coming off the disabled list, has not hit a home run since July 25 when he led the American League with 25 and, with 146 strikeouts going into a weekend series against Texas, is on the verge of becoming the first player in baseball history to strike out 150 or more times in four consecutive seasons.

Impressive: Andy Benes, the first pick in the 1988 June draft, is 4-0 in his last five starts for the San Diego Padres, who have won all five of those games. “The thing I like about him is that he throws inside,” Manager Jack McKeon said. “He won’t back down from anybody. The way he’s pitching now I wouldn’t hesitate starting him in the first game of the playoffs, if we get there.”

Manager’s Fault?: The Cleveland Indians fired Manager Doc Edwards, but it was Cory Snyder and Joe Carter who came to the plate 80 times with a runner at third and less than two outs and drove him in only 33 times.

His Action’s Speak: No one seems to know why A’s third baseman Carney Lansford has stopped talking to reporters, but it hasn’t affected his bid for the American League batting title. Lansford, through Thursday, was batting .364 since the All-Star break, a reversal from last year when he hit .404 in the first half and .185 in the second. Teammate Dave Henderson said Lansford’s hits are falling in now. Last year, he said, they were caught. “Last year,” Henderson explained, “Carney put a lot of guys on ‘This Week in Baseball.’ ”

Comparison: Those are big numbers Bo Jackson is posting for the Kansas City Royals, but teammate Frank White suggested that Bo still isn’t in George Brett’s class. “When George gets hot he can make Bo disappear, White said.”

Historian: Said Steve Rosenberg, who is 4-12 as a rookie pitcher with the Chicago White Sox: “My only hope is to compare my numbers to Sandy Koufax’s early numbers.” Koufax needed two years to register his first four major league victories.

Power Display: White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen recently ended his homerless streak at 1,144 at-bats. Then, Tuesday night, his teammate and second base partner, Scott Fletcher, hit a home run for the first time in 1,075 at-bats. The major league’s longest drought now belongs to Milwaukee second baseman Jim Gantner, who has gone 1,026 at-bats without a homer and might never play again because of a knee injury.

Truthful: Closing in on a division title, Chicago Cubs Manager Don Zimmer said: “There’s probably not a guy in uniform who doesn’t watch the scoreboard. What’s it there for?”