Laberecke » Reynolds would love reducing the strikeout count withou

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- No. 7 Duke proved its anything but a one-man show. These Blue Devils showed they also can win rather easily when they spread the scoring around. Duke routed Elon 86-48 on Tuesday despite not producing a 20-point scorer for the first time this season. Andre Dawkins scored 15 points, Rodney Hood had 13 points and freshman Jabari Parker had 12 points and a season-high-tying 10 rebounds for Duke (11-2). "We didnt know who was scoring," Dawkins said. "We just knew we were putting points up." The Blue Devils never trailed and had little trouble winning their fifth straight, shooting 48.5 per cent, forcing 22 turnovers and turning them into 25 points. "We just wanted to get into their legs," Hood said. "We wanted to contest them, make them take tough shots the whole night and we did that, and I could see the frustration on their face. They got a little tired (and) it was because of our defensive pressure." At least one Blue Devil reached the 20-point mark in each of their previous 12 games -- and in 10 of them, it was Parker. But they had little need to put the scoring burden on any one player in this one. "It was one of those days where everybody played hard and well, and they embraced playing defence," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. Elons 48 points were a season-low allowed by Duke, and at no point in the game did the Phoenix (7-7) have more field goals than turnovers. "We were beaten in every situation," Elon coach Matt Matheny said. Ryley Beaumont and Lucas Troutman scored 11 points each for the Phoenix, who shot 35 per cent and fell to 1-26 against ACC opponents since their 1999 move to Division I. Dawkins set season highs with 20 points and six 3-pointers three days earlier against Eastern Michigan. He finished this one with five 3s -- including four during the first-half run that gave Duke an insurmountable lead. Rasheed Sulaimon and Quinn Cook each had 11 points for the Blue Devils, who can finally focus on conference play. The ACCs preseason favourites visit Notre Dame on Saturday in their league opener. Hood -- a 17.6-point scorer -- was 4 of 12 in this one after managing just eight points against Eastern Michigan while playing through an illness. But the Blue Devils didnt need much from him to end a two-game losing streak at the Greensboro Coliseum -- where theyve won seven ACC tournaments under Krzyzewski and in a few months will go for their eighth. Dawkins wasnt around for the last loss -- an 83-74 clunker in the quarterfinals of last years ACC tournament -- because he spent last season away from the team for personal reasons. But he certainly shot better than he did in his last visit here -- Dukes stunning loss to 15th-seeded Lehigh in the 2012 NCAA tournament, in which Dawkins missed seven of his nine attempts. He turned the decisive run in this one into a personal game of around the horn, hitting 3s from the corner, wing and key during the 22-7 run that effectively ended this one at halftime. "When the first one goes in, thats when its kind of, Lets see how far this can go," Dawkins said. "Its easy when youve got teammates that are always looking for you, setting screens for you, things like that. All Ive got to do is catch the ball and shoot it." His 3 from the right corner off an inbounds pass capped the burst and made it 26-9 with 7 1/2 minutes before the break. "Dawkins 3s are daggers," Matheny said. Pointing out the Duke guards knack for swishes, he added: "I dont know if hes even touched the rim." Cook gave Duke its first 20-point lead when his 3 from the corner made it 33-11 with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the half. The Blue Devils then reeled off the first eight points of the second half and went up by 30 on Sulaimons 3 with 11 minutes left. 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Liriano pitched in and out of trouble in his duel with Josh Beckett, and Ike Davis homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Friday night.ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Cardinals are prepared to live with the swings and misses, knowing that when Mark Reynolds connects the ball really travels.They have lacked a power bat off the bench, or power anywhere for that matter, and Reynolds also could platoon with Matt Adams at first base. Manager Mike Matheny promises he wont have batting coach John Mabry tinker too much with a stroke thats boom or bust.We need to capitalize on what his strengths are and not focus on the weaknesses, and realize hes got a power component thats very rare, Matheny said at the Winter Warm-Up fan festival. Make some subtle changes to maybe improve, but also not be afraid to get up there and try to drive the ball. Thats why we did bring him in.General manager John Mozeliak points out something of a happy medium approach would help both parties. Reynolds is playing for his fifth team in four seasons.I think we understood what we were buying, Mozeliak said. But thats not to say we also werent hopeful of maybe a little bit of an adjustment.The Cardinals made it to the post-season for a franchise-record fourth consecutive season without relying on the long ball, totalling 102 homers for second-worst in the major leagues. Home runs were down across the board among the starters and the bench contributed just 12.Thats why the Cardinals think the 31-year-old Reynolds is a good fit. He holds the major league record of 223 strikeouts in 2009 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and is just a .229 career hitter, but he hit 44 homers in 2009 and has 21 or more in each of his last seven seasons.Though he batted a paltry .196 last year with Milwaukee — and fanned neearly once per three at-bats in a part-time role — Reynolds managed to hit 22 homers.ddddddddddddhe one thing weve talked about a lot is whos the power off the bench, Mozeliak said. Historically, we just havent had a great answer for that. At the minimum, were hoping he can do that.Certainly, Reynolds would love reducing the strikeout count without sacrificing too much pop. But theres a limit.When theres two outs and nobody on base and I have two strikes, Im not going to try to hit a ball to second base, Reynolds said. Im going to try to drive the ball in the gap and get in scoring position, and I dont want to compromise that.After playing his first four seasons with Arizona, Reynolds has had stints with the Orioles, Indians, Yankees and Brewers. He chose a one-year deal with St. Louis for opportunities at the corner infield spots and perhaps some outfield, too, for a chance to play for a faithful fan base and above all join a team accustomed to playing deep into October.I had other opportunities to go other places where I could have probably played more, at least on paper, but it didnt look too good for the post-season, Reynolds said. I wanted to be here.The move figures to be a motivator for the left-handed hitting Adams, who batted .318 against right-handed pitchers but just .190 against lefties. Only three of Adams homers came against lefties.Reynolds hasnt exactly crushed lefties, either, with a career average of .231. But his on-base percentage of .351 against lefties is impressive.Im definitely not here to ride the pine, Reynolds said. Im going to try and make it tough on Mike to keep me on the bench. ' ' '