Short Hops: Any given Sunday

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY

For the Orioles, it truly is a day of rest. The last time they won on a Sunday was April 6, the first Sabbath of the season, and it took a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth against Seattle, the worst team in the American League, to do it. Since then, Baltimore has dropped 15 consecutive Sunday matchups, including eight of the last 12 by one run. The Birds have scored an average of 2.7 runs per game during the streak, compared to 5.1 in every other game. Perhaps you math majors have already calculated that the odds of a .500 team (which the Orioles are, more or less) losing 15 consecutive games on any given day of the week are 3 in 10,000.

OUR CONDOLENCES

This week’s sympathy cards go to:

• The Rangers. Now that Tom Glavine, who went more than 20 years without going on the DL, is throwing off a mound again, we are reminded that each of the five members of Texas’ season-opening rotation has been disabled.

• Keiichi Yabu. He came out of the Giants bullpen and hit the first Brewers batter he faced on back-to-back days, with both scoring.

• Greg Maddux. After winning his 350th game 13 starts ago, he’s still looking for No. 351.

• Rich Harden. In two starts since being traded to the Cubs — the highest-scoring team in the NL — he’s struck out 20 batters and allowed one run in 12 1/3 innings, yet is winless.

• Pittsburgh’s Kip Wells and KC’s Jimmy Gobble. On Monday, they combined to allow 17 runs in 1 1/3 innings, putting 20 of the 24 runners they faced on the sacks. (“There aren’t a lot of times when you watch 26 of the 27 outs in a game you started,” sighed Wells.)

• Andruw Jones. We’ve been on the slacker of a slugger all year, and now we’re piling on. It was his Dodgers against whom Wells started, and guess who was the only one of the 10 batters Kip faced to make an out. Three straight swinging strikes, of course.

HIT AND RUN

Short Hops’ recurring installment of slapdash observation and imprudent opinion:

For the first time in 54 tries this year, the Padres won a game in which they were trailing in the ninth inning. It took a three-run rally and bases-loaded/no-outs escape by Trevor Hoffman against the Reds to do it.

Blue Jays pitchers have allowed more home runs (four) to Adam Jones than any other hitter this year. The Orioles centerfielder has hit only two others all season.

On the day (Tuesday) Jose Arredondo’s hitless streak ended at 9 2/3 innings, Kyle Farnsworth’s reached 9. Batters went 0-for-33 in Arredondo’s spree, the longest drought against a rookie since Wilson Alvarez (0-for-34, including his no-hitter) in 1991.

Fantasy alert: Francisco Liriano’s hung a 0.26 ERA over his last five starts in Triple-A. He’ll be back in Minnie any day now.

QUOTABLES

“For no apparent reason.” — Why, according to the Indians media notes, the homestanding Mariners asked both teams to wear 1989-styled uniforms for their game of last Saturday.