Paulsen had a three-run triple that opened the scoring and sparked the Drillers to their fourth consecutive victory, 7-1, over the Corpus Christi Hooks before 3,602 fans Monday afternoon at ONEOK Field.
"I'm just trying to be relaxed right now," Paulsen said. "You want to go up there with confidence and being ready to hit, and take every pitch one at a time."
And that approach is working for Paulsen, who is batting .286 with two homers in 11 games. His nine RBIs are tied with Nolan Arenado for the team lead.
Last year, Paulsen's first season with the Drillers included solid power numbers, 19 homers and 78 RBIs, but his batting average was at .241 - 62 points less than his first two pro seasons. That resulted in Paulsen making some changes at the plate as he worked with Drillers hitting coach Kevin Riggs in the Arizona Fall League.
"He's the one that started me with the toe-tap," Paulsen said. "Chipper Jones has always been one of my favorite players. I did it (the toe-tap) in Little League trying to imitate him, so why not try it now and it just became comfortable."
Although the left-handed-hitting Paulsen had only one hit Monday, he lined out in two of his other three at-bats. The first-inning triple capped a stretch of five hits in 10 at-bats with seven RBIs.
Riggs said about having Paulsen use the toe-tap, "It was a deal to try and keep him back a little bit. He's doing better his last couple games. His hands are real, real good, but if you don't use your lower half properly, your hands can only do so much."
Paulsen is off to a much better start in 2012 and so is Drillers right-hander Cory Riordan (2-0), who has surpassed his wins total from last year when he was 1-12.
Riordan, the second of four pitchers, came in after Joe Gardner was taken out despite having a two-hit shutout with one out in the fourth inning. Gardner, however, had already reached his 85-pitch limit. Riordan needed only 44 pitches, including 32 strikes, to work 3 2/3 innings. He was hurt only by Jose Martinez's sixth-inning homer.
"This year, he (Riordan) has a better down angle on his fast ball," Drillers pitching coach Dave Schuler said. "He wants to make the sequences (at-bats) short. As a starter last year he made real good pitches initially but got in trouble when his sequences got longer. This year, he is getting ahead, staying ahead and getting rid of them (hitters)."
Riordan's effort saved the Drillers' bullpen after Tulsa (8-3) used six pitchers Saturday and four on Sunday.
"If we didn't get that from him today we're in big trouble," Drillers manager Duane Espy said.
Riordan inherited a 3-0 lead after the Drillers jumped on Hooks emergency starter Henry Villar (1-2) in the first inning. Villar subbed for top Houston Astros pitching prospect Jarred Cosart, who had a blister on his pitching hand. Josh Rutledge led off with a single, Mike Mitchell bunted for a hit and Arenado walked to load the bases for Paulsen, who tripled sharply down the right-field line.
Texas League
| Drillers | 7 |
| Corpus Christi | 1 |
Up next
Vs. Corpus Christi7:05 p.m. Tuesday
Radio: KTBZ am1430
Original Print Headline: Drillers whip Hooks for 4th win in a row
Barry Lewis 918-581-8393
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com
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