Joseph on today's start and working with Miley

Caleb Joseph's fresh start begins today.

Joseph is behind the plate as the Orioles attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the Yankees. He's making his 2017 debut along with left-hander Wade Miley, who came off the disabled list.

"I'm excited," he said. "I'm excited to catch Wade. (Welington) Castillo and the boys set a pretty high bar, huh? Yeah, it's exciting. You work for something in spring and you get to play in spring and then you come here and wait your chance and you get your chance and you're ready to go.

"It's like being a Little Leaguer again on a Friday night, playing Saturday morning and you can't sleep on Friday night. Stuff like that. It's going to be exciting. I'm glad the weather looks to be really nice, too. Looks like a perfect day for some baseball."

Castillo will get the bulk of the starts, leaving Joseph to find ways to stay sharp while waiting his next turn.

"I think last year it was more of a challenge,'' he said. "This year, I've got a little more experience with it. I know what I need to do to stay sharp, whereas last year I was trying to search and figure that out. I feel confident and I have a better grip on what's going on. I feel good and I'm ready to go."

Joseph doubled twice and hit two solo home runs in spring training and seemed to be having better at-bats than the ones he carried through an injury-interrupted 2016 season, when he batted .174/.216/.197 in 141 plate appearances. His last RBI came on Sept. 11, 2015 against the Royals.

"If I don't go 4-for-4, I'm quitting," he joked. "I think it was more important in the spring. I have confidence in myself. I'm not sure I could have said that last year. I have a better idea of what I'm getting into and I have things that are actually repeatable this year with the routines. I feel very comfortable. If I go 0-for-4, it's OK. I'll have good competitive at-bats and see what happens.

"My No. 1 priority is to get Wade as deep in the game for the Orioles to win the ballgame. If I contribute offensively, it's a plus. It's like going right back to 2014. That's how I have to approach it. My No. 1 goal is to impact the game on defense and what I bring on offense is a plus."

Joseph already sat down with Miley to go over today's game plan and the left-hander summoned him again while reporters were finishing their interview.

"We have some things we want to do, things that we stuck to in spring that worked out really well," Joseph said. "I thought he had a really nice spring and we've already talked about continuing some of those things no matter what the situation is. And he's already said, 'I may need you to do this' or 'I may need you to do that' in terms of helping keep him accountable for some of these things, which is the job of the catcher. That's what you have to do. Some guys need a pat on the shoulder, some guys need a kick in the pants.

"I'm excited about what Wade's going to bring. We need him and we're getting ready to see what he's going to bring today."

Miley is known for working at a rapid pace, which Joseph also will monitor and adjust as needed.

"There's a fine line between great tempo and rushed," Joseph said. "You want to be able to still make quality pitches. I think everybody loves the fact that he works quick, but there could be a point where working so fast, you lose the quality of the pitch, so that's a fine balance that he's obviously known for a long time.

"There are different tips and tricks to slow him down without having to go out and have 30 meetings as we've seen in the past in this league with some people. There's ways to do it without to go out and take a trip, and we'll focus on that today."