Davis hit .286 and led the majors with 53 home

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SHERBROOKE, Que. . - Kevin Domingue scored the only goal of a shootout as the Sherbrooke Phoenix edged the Victoriaville Tigres 5-4 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Sunday. Kay Schweri had a goal and two assists for the Phoenix (2-0-0), and David Shorto, Tim Wieser and Vincent Deslauriers also scored. Gabriel Gagne scored a goal and assisted on two more for the Tigres (0-1-1), and Mathieu Ayotte, Angelo Miceli and Carl Marois also scored. Sherbrookes Alex Bureau made 23 saves in the victory. Victoriavilles Chase Marchand stopped 44 shots in the loss. --- WILDCATS 5 SEA DOGS 2 MONCTON, N.B. — Conor Garland and Christope Lalonde had a goal and two assists apiece to lead Moncton over Saint John. Will Smith scored a short-handed goal, Stephen Johnson scored on the power play, and Adam Holwell also scored for the Wildcats (1-1-0), who outshot their opponents 36-30. Nathan Noel and Drew Gross scored for the Sea Dogs (0-1-1). --- OCEANIC 9 REMPARTS 3 RIMOUSKI, Que. — Anthony DeLuca scored a hat trick and Alexis Loiseau had two goals and two assists to power Rimouski over Quebec. Deven St-Hilaire, Andrew Picco, Francois Beauchemin, and Hunter Moreau also scored for the Oceanic (2-0-0), who scored five power-play goals in nine chances. Guillaume Gauthier scored two — one on a power play — for the Remparts (0-2-0), and Massimo Carozza added the other Quebec goal. Eric Brassard made 38 saves in the loss. . -- With the season on the line once more in Oakland, Justin Verlander pitched another Game 5 gem. . This player is a sniper, that ones over-the-hill; this one can still dominate the game, that one is riding the coattails of superior linemates. . Alvaro Negredo scored a hat trick and strike partner Sergio Aguero grabbed the other two goals as City crushed CSKA Moscow 5-2 to guarantee a top-two finish in Group D. After splashing out hundreds of millions of pounds on big-name players over the past five years, City was desperate to transfer its recent domestic success to the European stage and make a dent in the Champions League. BALTIMORE -- Orioles slugger Chris Davis has tried just about everything to break out of lengthy hitting slump. Extra batting practice and intensive video study havent worked. Maybe a seat in the dugout will help the Baltimore star come up with the solution. Davis wasnt in the starting lineup Monday night against the Chicago White Sox. Manager Buck Showalter explained the move as simply an effort to get Delmon Young some playing time, but Davis knew better. He attributed the benching to his lack of hitting this month. "Thats pretty evident," Davis said. "Its about putting the best nine out there every game, giving yourself a chance to win, and lately I just havent been very good." Davis is batting .216 with 12 homers and 37 RBIs. Over his previous 14 games, he was 7 for 54 (.130). Last year, Davis hit .286 and led the majors with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs. "If youd have asked me in the off-season or during spring training if I thought I was going to struggle like Im doing this year, Id have told you that you were crazy," Davis said. Of the day off, he said, "Maybe it will give me a chance to clear my head." Davis misery this season began in earnest with an oblique injury that put him on the disabled list. That, however, is not an issue in his current struggle. "Im trying to figure it out. I know its frustrating for people to watch me go through it, but can you imagine how much more frustrating it is to actually go through it?" Davis said. . . "At the same time, we still have a lot of baseball left to play and I know Im going to get an opportunity to come out of it. I know Ill come out of it." Nothing hes tried to reverse the trend has worked, and Davis acknowledged that he hasnt a clue what to do next. "Im not really feeling a whole lot at the plate right now other than frustration," he said. A year ago, Davis was so sharp at the plate that almost every swing produced results. This year, not so much. "When youre hitting .330, it feels like you hit every hole, every pitch you take is a ball," he said. "When youre hitting just over .200, it feels like every pitch you take is a strike and every time you hit a ball hard somebody is standing there." Teammate Adam Jones suggested that a bloop hit, and not a tape-measure home run, could be the cure. "He might need to get jammed, bad jammed, and he hits it on the label right above his fingers and it falls for a base hit," Jones said. "He might figure it out from there." Showalter said Davis would start Tuesday, and the manager was optimistic that his first baseman will soon get back on track. "Hes close," Showalter said. "I have a lot of confidence it will pick up as the season goes." ' ' '