Wade Miley on facing his former team and extra rest

When the Orioles begin a big series in Boston tonight, left-hander Wade Miley will once again be on the mound at Fenway Park. But this time he will be pitching against the Red Sox.

Last year, Miley made 32 starts for Boston, going 11-11 with a 4.46 ERA. The Red Sox acquired him from Arizona in a December 2014 trade. About a year later, Boston traded him to Seattle. About seven months after that, on July 31 of this season, Seattle traded him to the Orioles for pitcher Ariel Miranda.

In Detroit before Sunday's game, I asked Miley about facing his former team tonight.

"I see it as just another game and obviously those guys can slug a little bit," Miley said. "Just need to try and keep them off the scoreboard as much as possible. It's a good group of guys over there. It was a fun team and obviously they are very talented and have a good young group of guys with Papi (David Ortiz) and (Dustin) Pedroia leading them. Even last year, toward the end of the year, they played pretty good ball in August and September. (Rick) Porcello has had a special year."

Tonight Miley, who is 1-4 with a 7.15 ERA in seven O's starts, pitches against lefty David Price, who is 15-8 with a 3.87 ERA over 30 starts. Over his past six starts, Price is 6-0 with a 2.14 ERA and .204 average against.

"He is throwing the ball well," Miley said. "That was a big pickup. They gave him a lot of money, but he's David Price, he deserves it."

Miley's last start was Sunday Sept. 4 against the Yankees, when he gave up four runs in five innings. With Chris Tillman back in the rotation, the O's have six starting rotation candidates and some may be pitching at times on extra rest as Miley will tonight.

In his career, Miley is 6-9 with a 4.30 ERA in 20 starts when pitching on six or more days of rest. He is 29-24 with an ERA of 3.97 when working on the normal four days rest.

Are there any challenges and/or benefits pitching with extra rest?

"I don't think so," Miley said. "Not necessarily. It's a mentality how and when you get ready for a start. You might feel fresher, no doubt. Sometimes you like to stay on a routine, but later in the year in September, I don't think anybody is going to be complaining for a couple of extra days. You know what, just whenever they tell us to pitch, we'll pitch. That is how we go about our business."

Miley is very aware that manager Buck Showalter will look for good matchups for his starters to put the team's best foot forward each game down the home stretch.

"It's his team and it's our responsibility to go out and try to give us the best chance to win when we're called upon," he said.