Durham 171 and 10 for 0 need a further 351 to beat Derbyshire 197 and 334 (Hosein 62, Lace 61, Critchley 51)

Durham's openers stood firm to halt Derbyshire's victory charge on day three of the Division Two match at the County Ground. Alex Lees and Gareth Harte battled through a testing last session to reach 10 without loss at the close in pursuit of an unlikely victory target of 361.

Derbyshire had taken control with Tom Lace making his maiden first-class half-century before Harvey Hosein and Matt Critchley also scored fifties as Derbyshire reached 334, with Matt Salisbury taking 3 for 65. That left Durham an awkward 17 overs to survive and Lees and Harte dug in to deny Derbyshire before bad light ended play early.

Although Derbyshire went into the day with an advantage of 133, Durham still had a chance if they could take early wickets but they managed only one in the morning as Lace and Alex Hughes wore down the bowlers.

The ball moved around in murky conditions but although the bat was beaten numerous times, Durham had to wait 18 overs for the breakthrough. Lace and Hughes played with discipline and restraint until Lace fenced at a wide one from Harte and was caught at second slip.

Hosein provided some acceleration to take the lead past 220 at lunch and after Hughes had been caught behind off Harte for a three-hour 39, Critchley took the game away with some punishing strokes. He reached 50 off 60 balls and Durham's frustration grew as both Hosein and Critchley survived dropped catches that should have been taken.

Both fell before tea but by then, Derbyshire were 320 ahead and they batted on with Ravi Rampaul striking Liam Trevaskis for two big sixes before he was last out pulling Salisbury to midwicket.

Durham were set what would be the second-highest successful fourth-innings chase at Derby and although the pitch had flattened out, they faced a tricky period before the close.

At least conditions were better for batting but there was some swing with the new ball and Tony Palladino almost found the edge of skipper Lees' bat in the second over. Lees responded by punching an overpitched delivery down the ground but generally the batsmen were content to leave as many balls as possible with survival until stumps the prime objective.

Only nine runs came from the first 11 overs as Lees and Harte concentrated on defence and their application was rewarded when the umpires took the players off the field two balls into the 15th over.

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MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and Khris Middleton added 21 to send Milwaukee to a methodical 115-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night, giving the Bucks 60 wins in a season for the first time since 1981.

The Bucks, who have clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, led from the outset as the Hawks rested leading scorers John Collins and Trae Young.

Milwaukee led 85-72 entering the final period, but Atlanta pulled to 101-98 on a drive by DeAndre' Bembry with 3:28 left.

Middleton countered with consecutive 3-pointers and Antetokounmpo connected from beyond the arc to put Milwaukee up 110-98.

Alex Len had a career-high 33 points for Atlanta, including six 3-pointers.

None of the Bucks' starters played more than 27 minutes and 11 of 12 available players each logged at least 19 minutes.

Milwaukee led 28-21 after one quarter and pushed it to 46-30 before the Hawks trimmed it to 54-45 at halftime.

Vince Carter hit two free throws to cap a 10-point run that pulled Atlanta to 78-71, but the Bucks pushed the lead to 85-72 entering the fourth.

Milwaukee, which lost in the first round of the playoffs during each of the past two seasons, has not advanced past the opening round since making the Eastern Conference finals in 2001.

The 1980-81 Bucks team that finished 60-22 under coach Don Nelson included Sidney Moncrief, Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman and Bob Lanier.

TIP-INS

Hawks: Young (19.1 points per game), who had started all 80 games, and John Collins (19.5 PPG) did not play due to load management. "We figured today would be a good day to sit them and finish the season on a high note at home," coach Lloyd Pierce said. "That's really important for us as a team and with what we've been through this year."

Bucks: Antetokounmpo, who did not play in Saturday's 133-128 loss to the Nets because of left calf soreness, was questionable for this one. But he was back in the lineup after experiencing no setbacks during pregame warm-ups.

UP NEXT

The Hawks host Indiana on Wednesday.

The Bucks host Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

TORONTO -- Another frustrating finish left the Miami Heat's playoff hopes hanging by a thread.

An untimely whistle by an official led to a disjointed final sequence in regulation, and the Heat wound up losing 117-109 in overtime to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Miami had the ball in the frontcourt with the score tied at 103 and 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Official Eric Lewis blew the whistle, and the Heat players started running into position, but Dion Waiters hadn't yet been given the ball for the inbounds pass.

Confused, the Heat ended up with a broken play at the buzzer. James Johnson missed a jump shot, and Bam Adebayo grabbed the rebound and made a layup, but it came right after the buzzer and didn't count.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the explanation he received from the officials for the early whistle included "nothing that was coherent or makes sense."

"You blow the whistle when you hand the ball to somebody when they're out of bounds, not before," Spoelstra said. "That got us moving, into motion, before that. Then it was just sideways from there.

"It's very disappointing that that play was allowed to continue," he said. "From our vantage point, that was a botched play. You just set it again. That happens a million times during the course of an NBA season."

Wade, who was supposed to receive the inbounds pass, didn't touch the ball on Miami's final possession in the fourth quarter.

"All I know is by the time [I] turned to get it backcourt, Dion still had the ball," Wade said. "It definitely took us out of what we wanted to do."

Miami lost its season-high fourth in a row.

The Heat could have guaranteed a postseason berth by winning their final three games. They host Philadelphia on Tuesday and close the regular season at Brooklyn the following day.

"We'll need some help," Spoelstra said. "The only thing we control is what we do. We've got to dust this one off, get back to Miami and win the next game."

Miami was in position to be eliminated later Sunday if Orlando defeated Boston, Brooklyn beat Indiana and Detroit beat Charlotte.

"Right now, I'm devastated by this loss," Wade said.

Wade scored 21 points, and Johnson had 18.

Toronto's Danny Green opened the extra session with a 3, then added a layup to put the Raptors up by five, the biggest margin for either team since the start of the fourth quarter.

Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points for Toronto. Norman Powell matched his season high with 23 points, and Green scored seven of his 21 in overtime as the Raptors won their fourth straight over the Heat.

Powell, who shot 7-for-7, said he enjoyed the intensity of the matchup as Toronto prepares for the playoffs.

"These guys are giving us their best performances," he said, "so it takes our game to the next level."

The crowd of 19,800 rose for a brief ovation when Wade checked in for the first time at 6:18 of the first. The 16-year veteran intends to retire at the end of the season.

Wade scored five points in the opening quarter, and Miami led 26-25 after one. The Heat were up 57-50 at halftime. They took a 79-78 lead into the fourth.

TIP-INS

Heat: Adebayo led the Heat with 13 rebounds. ... Miami missed eight of 10 shot attempts in overtime. ... The Heat signed F Yante Maten to a full contract. He had been on a two-way contract.

Raptors: The Raptors didn't get any points from bench players in the first quarter. ... They finished 32-9 at home. ... Toronto scored at least 110 points for the eighth straight game, matching a franchise record. The Raptors also did it in February 2018.

TOO EARLY

Spoelstra also expressed displeasure at the noon tipoff time.

"These 12 o'clock tips, they're not easy for anybody," he said. "Get some sleep. Get some rest. These things matter."

LAST (HOME) DANCE

Wade will be celebrated before his final home game Tuesday night, but he said he doesn't know what the team has in store for his farewell.

"I know all my family is going to be there," he said. "I'm just looking forward to it, you know, close the chapter."

SHARING IT AROUND

Toronto is the only NBA team with a different player leading in points (Leonard), rebounds (Serge Ibaka), assists (Kyle Lowry) and minutes (Siakam).

SHIRT OFF MY BACK

Wade swapped jerseys with Leonard following the game.

UP NEXT

Heat: Host Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Raptors: At Minnesota on Tuesday.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson wouldn't let himself talk about his team possibly making the playoffs. That's understandable, considering the Nets hadn't been to the playoffs since the 2014-15 season.

Atkinson doesn't have to worry about using the word possibly anymore, because the Nets locked up a postseason spot by beating an Indiana Pacers team that had won nine straight against them. Brooklyn prevailed 108-96 on Sunday.

"I'm just glad the way we did it," Atkinson said. "Here against a tough Indiana team, on the road, on a back-to-back, which we struggled with in the past. Just a wonderful way to qualify for the playoffs. Felt like last two games was another level of focus. Another level of being locked in. They wanted it so bad. An extra energy out there."

This hasn't been an easy road back to the playoffs for the Nets. Atkinson and general manager Sean Marks have rebuilt the franchise without the luxury of having top-five picks in the draft or signing a heavyweight free agent. They've done it with smart personnel moves and the development of players such as point guard D'Angelo Russell, who made his first All-Star appearance this season.

Those efforts have paid off for the Nets, as they have gone from winning 20 games in Atkinson's first season in 2016-17 to 28 games last season to winning at least 41 games this season.

"I've been through losing so much in this league and finally get a taste of what the playoffs going to feel like. I'm excited," Russell said.

Atkinson refused to acknowledge the thought of making the playoffs throughout the season. That's understandable, considering the Nets looked more like a lottery team than a playoff team when they started the season 8-18, which included a seven-game losing streak during that stretch. The players started to see the potential when they responded to the losing streak by running off eight straight victories, with two of those coming against the playoff-bound Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers in December.

It took all the way until a seven-game road trip in March, though, for Atkinson to finally start believing he had a playoff team on his hands, despite Brooklyn going 2-5 during that span.

"Like I told them the old story: No one believed you could do it," Atkinson said. "I think those are the most beautiful moments in sports. Winning a championship, next to that, proving everybody wrong. The predictions. Even their head coach, they even proved me wrong. They're much better than I thought they were going to be. I didn't know that until I got to know that group of guys in there. As the season went on, this was possible."

The Nets wanted to get into the playoffs without relying on the help of other teams. They took the first step by beating the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. Then they knocked off the Pacers by scoring the first nine points of the game; getting 20 points from Russell and 19 points from Joe Harris; and dominating Indiana at its own game by outrebounding the Pacers by 19.

The Nets will finish as the sixth or seventh seed in the East. The loss for the Pacers was their second straight and officially locked them into the fifth seed, from which they'll face the Boston Celtics in the first round.

"It felt better that we didn't need somebody else to lose," Nets forward Jared Dudley said. "We controlled our own destiny, came on a road trip and beat Milwaukee, beat Indiana. It was satisfying."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors clinched the No. 1 seed throughout the Western Conference playoffs with a 131-104 blowout win over the LA Clippers on Sunday night.

The Warriors, who have been battling with the Denver Nuggets for the top spot over the last few months of the season, were led by Stephen Curry who scored 27 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists while Kevin Durant added 16 points and seven assists.

Sunday's game took on added meaning for the Warriors given that it was the final regular-season game at Oracle Arena. The Warriors celebrated the occasion by wearing jerseys from the "We Believe" era of Warriors basketball which is highlighted by the Warriors defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, becoming the first eight seed to knock of a number one seed in a seven-game series format.

As Curry took off his warm-up shirt after starting lineup introductions, he smiled wide and joyfully screamed towards the air while revealing the jersey.

The crowd was noticeably more energetic at the beginning of the game, especially after a short video tribute to Warriors great Al Attles played after the first time out. Attles, who was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, has spent over 50 years within the Warriors organization in various roles.

The Warriors have said repeatedly in recent weeks that locking up the one seed wasn't as important as staying healthy down the stretch, but having the comfort of homecourt advantage in the final season at Oracle was important to the group. They accomplished that goal on Sunday and now have to wait to find out who they'll play in the first round next weekend.

The Warriors head into this playoff run hoping to become the first team since the 1960s Boston Celtics to go to the NBA Finals five straight times. The Warriors are also looking to become the first team since the 2000-2002 Los Angeles Lakers to win back-to-back-to-back NBA championships.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said recently that he was hoping he could give some of his core players a little rest heading into the final two games of the season. It will be interesting to see who plays and who sits now that the Warriors have earned the top seed. The Warriors close the regular season portion of the schedule with a road back-to-back against the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and Wednesday.

HOUSTON -- In a game that was decided by halftime, Houston's prolific 3-point shooting added a little excitement in the last few minutes.

James Harden scored 30 points in just three quarters as the Rockets broke their NBA record by making 27 3-pointers in a 149-113 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Eric Gordon led the 3-point brigade by tying a career high with eight, Harden added five, P.J. Tucker had four and Danuel House three.

Gary Clark tied the record with a little over three minutes to play and Houston missed the next four before Austin Rivers broke it with 1:09 remaining. He crouched a bit and pointed at the Phoenix bench after the make as fans bellowed: "Threeeeeeee!"

"There was no choice," Rivers deadpanned. "The ball was coming to me."

He said he didn't realize they were close to breaking the record until he heard the crowd yelling at them to take more 3s.

"I think it made it interesting especially toward the end," Rivers said. "It made guys play for something else. When you're up by like 35, 40 points that's a lot of points."

Houston has made 26 twice this season with the last time coming Tuesday at Sacramento.

The Rockets had a 10-point lead after one and a 43-point second quarter allowed them to tie a season high with 77 points in the first half to take a 30-point lead into halftime.

Houston led by 15 with just more than four minutes left in the second before ending the quarter with a 21-6 spurt to pad the lead. Harden had 10 points in that span and Gordon and Tucker added 3-pointers to help the Rockets turn this one into a blowout early.

Harden, who had 13 rebounds and nine assists, scored 16 points in the third quarter, capped by a 3-pointer just before the buzzer which gave Houston a 40-point advantage entering the fourth quarter. Harden made the shot and held his follow through for a couple of seconds before walking to bench -- where he'd remain for the rest of the night with the game well in hand.

It was the second straight game in which Harden sat out the entire fourth quarter, giving the league's leading scorer, who averages almost 37 minutes a game, some much-needed rest as the playoffs approach.

Chris Paul was pleased that the Rockets played to their level despite playing one of the league's worst teams.

"We understand that we're playing for something and we're all trying to stay sharp," he said.

Associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik coached the Rockets for the second straight game with coach Mike D'Antoni out with the stomach flu. It's unclear whether D'Antoni will be healthy in time to travel with the team to Oklahoma City for Tuesday night's game.

Harden wasn't the only one who sat in the final period, with all of Houston's starters getting a little break in this lopsided game.

Jamal Crawford had 27 points off the bench for the Suns with rising stars Devin Booker and Kelly Oubre out for the season with injuries.

"As a young team we have a lot to learn ... we didn't necessarily play smart," Phoenix coach Igor Stefan Kokoskov said.

TIP-INS

Suns: Richaun Holmes missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle. ... Mikal Bridges and Dragan Bender scored 19 each.

Rockets: Harden has scored at least 20 points in 56 straight games. ... The Rockets have made at least 20 in six of their last 12 games and 18 times this season. ... Clint Capela added 22 points and 13 rebounds.

THEY SAID IT

Paul on the team's mindset when opponents double-team Harden: "I get it. He scores a lot of points, so you want to double him. But that means you're leaving me, Gordy, Tuck, all of us wide open."

UP NEXT

Suns: Play the season finale at Dallas on Tuesday night.

Rockets: Wrap up the regular season at Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.

---

More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/NBA and www.twitter.com/AP-Sports

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks placed catcher Alex Avila on the injured list with a strained left quadriceps, an injury suffered while circling the bases on a home run.

Avila was hurt when he homered off Boston infielder Eduardo Nunez, who was on the mound during the eighth inning of the Diamondbacks' 15-8 victory Friday.

"He was gearing up to get to second base, and when he saw it went over the fence he kind of geared down and felt it grab," manager Torey Lovullo said Sunday. "We don't think it is going to be anything that is too lengthy."

Avila is hitting .333 with two homers and five RBIs in six games.

Arizona, which opened the season with three catchers, recalled infielder/outfielder Tim LoCastro from Reno of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Cincinnati Reds right fielder Yasiel Puig was one of five ejected after a benches-clearing incident in the top of the fourth inning of Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

Three Reds (manager David Bell, Puig and relief pitcher Amir Garrett) and two Pirates (relievers Keone Kela and Felipe Vazquez) were ejected.

Pirates starter Chris Archer threw a 93 mph fastball behind Reds first baseman Derek Dietrich's back to spark the incident. Dietrich had homered in the second inning and had stared at his blast before circling the bases, apparently angering Archer.

Warnings were issued to both teams, but Bell came onto the field to argue with home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg that Archer should have been ejected. Players from both teams then began to push one another.

After the situation seemed to settle down, Puig charged toward Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams at home plate and had to be restrained, reigniting the incident. Puig grabbed Pirates bench coach Tom Prince and tried to put him in a headlock.

"I was trying to go in,'' Archer said. "I air-mailed a couple balls today, a couple that I was trying to elevate, a couple that I yanked when righties were up there. Another one that I just yanked.''

"I missed -- missed my spot,'' he added.

Puig said pitchers shouldn't try to hit batters because a batter can't retaliate in the same way.

"When people watch the ball go far away or do bat flips, like I do before, in the next [at-bat] try to strike out the guy,'' Puig said. "Don't try to hit the guy, because we can't defend you back because we can't hit you with a bat or nothing.''

Dietrich's 436-foot drive to right-center gave the Reds a 2-1 lead. Dietrich dropped his bat and stood in the batter's box and watched the ball clear the fence atop the Clemente Wall and bounce into the Allegheny River.

Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli had words for Dietrich when he crossed home plate. Dietrich said that exchange of words probably resulted in the fourth-inning hostilities.

"That's probably where it started. I didn't say anything, I didn't flip my bat, nothing on my end. So people see it differently. Most hitters see it as a good swing, some pitchers see it as 'Oh he's trying to show me up.' I don't know where the game's going these days," he said. "Everyone loves to play and have fun, but I let my bat do the talking. It was good to see the guys had my back, especially my manager. We're not trying to intentionally hurt anybody; we're just trying to play baseball, play hard, but unfortunately things happen."

Vazquez said he was ejected for entering the field without his uniform top. The reliever, said Dietrich, who was designated for assignment this offseason, hasn't earned the right to do something like that.

"He shouldn't have done that,'' Vazquez said. "If you do something like that, you're going to pay for it. We're trying to play the game like we have to, respect the game. He shouldn't do it. Joey [Votto] can do it because he's been here a long time, but for a guy like that, he's not supposed to do something like that. ... I think it was a little too much.''

He also tweeted after the game:

Protect the ship no matter what?

— Nightmare Vazquez (@F_Vazquez73) April 7, 2019

Bell said after the game that "it's just completely unacceptable for anyone to try to intentionally hurt one of our players. It's that simple. And it was obvious.''

Matt Kemp replaced Puig, while Archer was allowed to remain in the game after the incident. The Reds led 3-2 at the time, but the Pirates scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead.

Dietrich homered again in the eighth inning, a 418-foot shot to right field, with the Reds down 7-3 at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BALTIMORE -- Granted one final plate appearance Sunday afternoon, Gary Sanchez sauntered from Camden Yards' visiting on-deck circle to its batter's box with one thought on his mind.

It was the same thought many in the 33,102-person crowd had, and one that was even murmured about in the New York Yankees' dugout: "Do you think he's trying to hit another one right here?"

You're darn right he was.

"I tried to do what everybody was thinking about," the Yankees designated hitter said through a translator, smiling.

Having already hit a career-best three home runs in the game, Sanchez settled into the box in the top of the ninth trying to hit a fourth. But well out in front of position-player-turned-pitcher Hanser Alberto's 67.9 mph breaking pitch, he just missed it, flying out to left with a towering drive.

"That would've been a way to top it off," Yankees left fielder Clint Frazier said. "But three homers isn't too bad, either."

Overall, the Yankees hit seven home runs in Sunday's 15-3 win over the Orioles. Across the three-game weekend set that they swept, the Bronx Bombers homered 14 times. That's the most homers they've hit in a three-game road series in franchise history, and it's the third most in a three-game road series in major league history.

"Never too much for us," manager Aaron Boone said. "I'm good with us hitting as many as we need to."

Of the last 29 runs the Yankees have scored, 26 have come via the long ball. At one point Sunday, the Yankees were in the middle of an 18-run stretch in which all of their scoring production had been the result of home runs.

As for Sanchez's three-homer showcase, it was the Yankees' first since last July, when Aaron Hicks hit three at home against the Boston Red Sox. This also was only the fourth three-homer game for a Yankees DH in franchise history. Alex Rodriguez posted a pair of three-homer games as a DH on July 25, 2015, and Aug. 14, 2010. Cliff Johnson also did it on June 30, 1977.

Beyond the historical significance of Sanchez's homer barrage, the long balls also served a greater purpose for him. They appeared to be proof that he may be back to form after a shoddy, injury-plagued 2018 season that saw him hit just .186 with 18 homers in 89 games.

"He's a great player that's still growing, and it's our job to help him continue to reach his peak on every facet of the game," Boone said. "He's making strides in a lot of areas of the game, and we know we've got a special talent on our hands, and a guy who impacts the game -- period."

Although Sanchez entered Sunday's game batting .192, Boone had been seeing signs of late that a breakout performance like this one could have been on the horizon.

"He's hit a number of balls, actually, really well," Boone said. "He's had some at-bats where he's had to strike out or whatever, but he's had two or three balls that were close to homers, going back to the homestand [last week], even. I feel like he's been really close. I feel like he's been on a lot of pitches."

While Sanchez's bat has been coming along in recent days, other aspects of his play weren't trending as smoothly. He needed a day like this one to put an otherwise troublesome weekend behind him.

It was during the first two games of the series when Sanchez was picked off by Orioles catchers at both second base and third base.

"The key thing is -- I keep saying this -- mistakes are going to happen in the game. If you don't make a mistake, then you don't play baseball," Sanchez said. "They're going to happen from time to time, but the important thing about that is to flip the page and focus on today. I was able to do that [Sunday]."

Sanchez apparently has been seeing the ball so well that each of his past six hits have been home runs. The last Yankee to record six straight homers: Darryl Strawberry in 1998.

There were other Yankees this weekend to enjoy multihomer games. Frazier, who until Saturday night hadn't homered since July 2017, hit another two home runs Sunday. The four-hit day was a career best for him, and it comes after his 2018 season was mostly derailed due to a spring-training concussion that lingered throughout the year.

He reported to camp this spring completely healthy and symptom-free.

Due to the Yankees' deep 11-man injured list, Frazier will be getting more consistent playing time for the foreseeable future. He believes that alone is having a positive impact.

"Playing every other day is difficult, especially when you go from playing every day. It makes me probably put a little more pressure on myself than I should," Frazier said. "Whenever I get consistent at-bats, I feel more comfortable at the plate, and I feel a part of this team."

To both Boone and Frazier, the most important at-bat of his day was the one he had in the sixth, when he chopped a well-struck grounder up the middle for a single. Gleyber Torres scored off it.

"It's something I've been trying to work on," Frazier said of going up the middle. "In spring I was a little pull-happy because I hadn't been in the game in a little while, and the approach is something you have to continue to ingrain in your system over and over again.

"My [batting practices] have resembled what I'm trying to do in the games, and that's think up the middle and get low line drives."

Along with Frazier and Sanchez, Torres and Aaron Judge also had multihomer games during the series. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's the most players to have multihomer games in a series in Yankees history.

BALTIMORE -- Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is nearing a record streak for futility.

Davis was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Sunday's 15-3 loss to the New York Yankees. He is 0-for-23 with 13 strikeouts this season and is hitless in 44 at-bats since a second-inning double off James Shields of the Chicago White Sox last Sept. 14.

Davis is two shy of the record for consecutive hitless at-bats by a position player, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Eugenio Velez went hitless in his final 46 at-bats of the 2011 season, one more than the previous mark shared by Pittsburgh's Bill Bergen (1909), Dave Campbell of San Diego and St. Louis (1973) and Milwaukee's Craig Counsell (earlier in 2011).

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has tried to stay positive with Davis, who has two RBIs -- on a bases-loaded walk and a fielder's choice grounder. Most of the Orioles' lineup struggled Sunday against Yankees left-hander Domingo German, who gave up two runs, two hits and two walks over six-plus innings.

"I haven't talked to him about it since, but he's facing a tough lefty there," Hyde said. "I hope that he feels like he's making progress. He took a couple decent passes on those fly balls. Just didn't happen."

Davis is in the fourth season of a $161 million, seven-year contract.

He hit .168 last year, the worst batting average in major league history for a qualified player, with 16 home runs, 49 RBIs and a .539 OPS.

Davis has been booed after strikeouts at Camden Yards.

"I understand the frustration," Davis said after Thursday's home opener. "Nobody's more frustrated than I am, especially a day like today, the kind of game that we were having. It was a frustrating day for me personally and the team collectively. But you've got to move on."