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May 28, 2007
It’s all about being confident.
PawSox starter David Pauley knows that all too well, and he’s quickly learned how to harness it in order to control a game and have success at the same time. Last night was a perfect example.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old (June 17) worked 6 1/3 innings last night and allowed one unearned run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts to help Pawtucket to a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Clippers at McCoy Stadium.
After allowing a lead-off single to Clippers Brandon Watson, followed by an error, Pauley retired the next 11 batters he faced.
With Pawtucket hanging on to a one-run lead, Pauley loaded the bases with one out. He collected his third strikeout of the game for the inning’s second out before making a fielding error on a chopper to the right side that allowed a run to score.
A year ago, the game would have spun out of control on him, but he didn’t allow that to happen last night. He composed himself and snared another come-backer and made the play to end the inning.
“He had a real nice outing,” said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson. “I was really impressed with his pitch efficiency and the command of his stuff. I was very pleased with his mound presence and composure. I’m seeing a lot of maturity come out with all of our young pitchers, and you saw it again tonight.”
Pauley was able to throw his curveball for strikes, a pitch he says hasn’t been working for him as much as he would like. The right-hander was able to keep the ball down in the zone and controlled the game at his pace.
“I had good stuff tonight from my eyes,” said Pauley, who improves to 2-1. “It’s something I’ve taken on myself this year being able to control the game at my own pace and not let the situation dictate what’s going on. I’ve told myself to ‘take a breath and get this out.’ Slow the game back down and going after the hitters instead of worrying about what could happen.”
After he got out of a jam relatively unscathed in the fifth, he retired the next four batters he faced before he was given the hook after 90 pitches (57 strikes). The PawSox bullpen of Craig Breslow, Edgar Martinez and Travis Hughes (third save of the season) finished the job to help Pawtucket snap a two-game losing skid.
The necessary offense for the PawSox was provided by Joe McEwing and Ed Rogers, who accounted for a RBI each.
For Pauley, it was his most efficient outing of the season.
He’s based his success this year with the experiences from a season ago in the Red Sox organization as he pitched at three different levels, including Double-A, the majors and Triple-A in that order. Pauley made his major-league debut for the Red Sox in Toronto on May 31 and eventually made two others, including a stellar performance at Yankee Stadium before he was optioned to Pawtucket on June 11.
After a 1-3 record with a 5.54 ERA in nine starts with the PawSox in 2006, his season ended with a forearm strain on Aug. 2. Basically, it was a season of ups and downs for Pauley and when he looks back, he realizes it was an invaluable learning experience.
“It was a big help,” he said. “When you get put into a situation like that, there are a lot of things you have to deal with up there. You have to learn over time and when you get out there consistently, you know what pitches to go to and you’re not stressed about what’s going to happen.”
--JOE McDONALD
Posted by Corey Bourassa 
at 9:52 PM to PawSox
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