By STEVE HERRICK
Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — Greenfield’s Kyle Gibson pitched seven strong innings, Adley Rutschman reached base four times and the Baltimore Orioles moved closer to clinching the AL East title, defeating the Cleveland Guardians 5-1 on Sunday.
Baltimore has a 2 1/2-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the division and reduced its magic number to three. Baltimore has six games remaining and holds the tiebreaker over the Rays.
Gibson (15-9) allowed one run and five hits while striking out four. The right-hander was pulled after a leadoff double in the eighth.
“Any time you inch closer you’re getting excited,” he said. “This is a team that’s really looking forward to it and if we take care of our business it will be a whole lot of fun here.”
The Orioles completed a stretch of playing a game in 17 straight days and went 4-3 on a trip to Houston and Cleveland.
“Just excited about how our club is playing,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re fun to watch. Everyone in the clubhouse is extremely loose.”
Rutschman doubled twice, drove in a run and drew two walks for Baltimore. He lined out to left field in the eighth.
The Guardians’ Triston McKenzie, activated from the 60-day injured list before the game, issued a career-high six walks in 1 2/3 innings.
Gibson has his final regular season start scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30, at home, against the Boston Red Sox. The game is scheduled to be a nationally-televised game on Fox at 7:15 p.m. Kutter Crawford is the scheduled starter for the BoSox.
