Caleb Joseph talks about Suk-min Yoon's O's debut

SARASOTA, Fla. - Caleb Joseph got another start today behind the plate and got to handle a well-pitched game as five Orioles pitchers combined on a six-hitter with 10 strikeouts in a 2-1 win over the Yankees in front of a sellout crowd of 8,602 at Ed Smith Stadium. Joseph was behind the plate for the much-anticipated debut of Korean right-hander Suk-min Yoon, who pitched a scoreless seventh after allowing a leadoff single to Ramon Flores. He then got two fly outs and groundout to end an 11-pitch inning. Joseph said Yoon has several pitches to choose from. "He's got like five, I think. Fastball, curveball, cutter, changeup and a palm ball," Joseph said. "I've caught all of them in the bullpen and he's really consistent with all of them." Joseph said Yoon was pretty composed for his first outing in the majors. "Yeah, he didn't look nervous at all to me," Joseph said. "He looked like he'd done this a million times. He showed a lot of composure out there and even after that first hit, kept pounding the zone and hitting his spots. "He had good life on his fastball, good down angle and was peppering the bottom part of the zone with really all his pitches. I didn't call a palm ball today, that was the only pitch we didn't throw. We used four out of the five." During his postgame press conference, Buck Showalter had some nice praise for Joseph, a catcher who has played most of the last four seasons for Double-A Bowie. He praised his improvement on defense and said he's "presenting himself as an option for us." That is a welcome comment for a player looking to advance in the organization and, at least this year, finally get to the Triple-A level for an extended stay. He played 22 games for the Tides in the 2012 season. "It is always great to be complimented. Feels great to maybe make an impression. That was my whole goal from the beginning and if that is what I'm doing, then awesome," Joseph said. With the win, the O's broke a four-game scoreless stretch during which they were 0-3-1. The Orioles are now 10-5-1. They played the Yankees for the last time this spring and went 2-1 against New York. The Orioles have scored a total of 14 runs over their last five games after scoring 62 runs in their previous six games. The O's next game is Sunday at 1:05 p.m. against Toronto in Dunedin with Miguel Gonzalez, Alfredo Aceves, Steve Johnson and Brad Brach scheduled to pitch.



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Postgame comments from Showalter
 

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