BALTIMORE -- After Zach Britton recorded his 40th save Saturday night at Camden Yards, the Orioles had shut out New York for the second consecutive night, and third straight game overall -- going back to the finale of last weekend's series -- and made significant moves in both of their postseason races.
Kevin Gausman gave the O's their fourth quality start in five games, firing six masterful innings, and Adam Jones belted his 25th homer, to lead Baltimore a 2-0 win and a series victory. It is the Orioles' first series win in their last six against the American League East, and it pulled them within two games of the division lead.
The O's also broke their tie with the Tigers for the second Wild Card spot, while the Yankees slipped to 4 1/2 games back in that race.

"We all want to step up. We all want to be that ace, and if you don't, I don't know what your goal is then," Gausman said. "We're all trying to go out and throw shutouts every night we go out there. Every time I take the mound, I'm thinking of throwing a complete game.
"You just kind of have to have that attitude, especially with [Chris Tillman] being down, we know we have one less guy that's going to be a big innings eater for us, and he has been for a lot of years. So we know we have to step up and compete, especially this time of the year."
Gausman, who has now thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings, was aided by an unearned run in the fourth and Jones' fifth-inning homer, both coming off Yankees starter CC Sabathia, who went six innings and allowed two runs (one earned).

"I thought Gausman's split was really good, and I thought he used his fastball," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We didn't do anything against him in New York either. We'd been swinging the bats really well, and the last two days I think we have six hits and no runs."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
K-K-Kevin: Gausman struck out eight and has pitched to a 0.80 ERA in five starts against the Yankees this year. The righty picked up his seventh win and extended his season-high winning streak to four starts.
"He's had a great look in his eye for about a month. Not that he hasn't before. It's just there's a real driven look and presence about him," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Felt like he's really kind of hit his stride. He's been solid for us for a while. He's in a good place in the process, so to speak." More >

Err-ing Judge: Aaron Judge's inability to handle Chris Davis' routine fourth-inning single cost the Yankees a run, as Mark Trumbo, who led off the inning with a double, had already held at third base when the ball kicked off the right fielder's glove. O's third-base coach Bobby Dickerson quickly started windmilling Trumbo home with Baltimore's first run. It has been a rough go of late for the rookie Judge, who is 5-for-49 and has struck out 28 times over his last 15 games.
"Just took my eye off it and made an error. That's about it," Judge said. 

It's Manny's World: Orioles third baseman Manny Machado made one of his best plays of the year to end the fifth inning, backhanding Brett Gardner's grounder and throwing across his body -- in foul territory -- to an outstretched Davis at first. The speedy Gardner was initially called safe, but Showalter challenged the call, and it was overturned.
The play came in a big spot, getting Gausman out of the fifth and stranded a baserunner in a 1-0 game.
"There's a lot of good third basemen in the league, [but] nobody makes that play," Showalter said. "The arm strength, the throw, to have that type of velocity across the diamond and throwing on the move -- I do not take it for granted. None of us do. It's a huge play."

Little help, guys? For the second consecutive outing, Sabathia recorded a quality start against Gausman and the O's, only to receive no run support. The Yankees' best chance came in the fourth inning, when they loaded the bases on Jacoby Ellsbury's walk, Gary Sánchez's infield single and a Didi Gregorius hit-by-pitch. Gausman clamped it there, striking out Starlin Castro and retiring Brian McCann on a routine fly ball to left field.

"It is what it is. We need to put these behind us, come out tomorrow and try to get a win," Sabathia said. More >

QUOTABLE
"The first time they're going to throw some meaningful pitches in their professional career, and it's coming in a playoff race. It's coming at an important time in their lives. I just think that they're both grabbing it by the reins, and taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity to showcase, not just to the players inside here, but all the players across Major League Baseball -- everybody watching baseball, that these guys are pretty good pitchers." -- Jones, on rookie Dylan Bundy and Gausman
• Jones took a big fake hack at Sabathia's wild pitch
WHAT'S NEXT
Yankees:Michael Pineda will make his 27th start of the season on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET, looking to snap a four-start winless streak. Pineda has surrendered five earned runs in both of his last two outings, and he will face the Orioles after the Yankees shuffled their rotation so he could avoid them last week in New York.
Orioles:Wade Miley will get the ball in Sunday's series finale. The lefty completed seven innings for the first time with Baltimore his last time out and has posted a 3.75 ERA over his last two starts.
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