BALTIMORE -- In 2022, Kyle Gibson made 31 regular-season starts for the Phillies, the second most on the team. However, his 9.73 ERA over six September/October outings led to him being excluded from Philadelphia’s postseason rotation as it made a run to the World Series.

Could Gibson experience a similar fate -- getting bumped to the bullpen in mid-October -- with Baltimore in 2023? He may need to have a better September to prevent history from repeating itself, especially after a bit of a difficult August.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gibson labored through 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs in the Orioles’ 10-5 loss to the White Sox in the series finale at Camden Yards. It was the second-most runs the 35-year-old right-hander has yielded through 28 starts in his first year with the O’s behind only his Aug. 11 outing in Seattle, where he surrendered a career-high nine in 5 1/3 innings.

Despite the loss, Baltimore (83-50) finished 6-3 on its nine-game homestand vs. the Blue Jays, Rockies and White Sox, winning two of three from each opponent. The Orioles hold a 1 1/2-game lead in the American League East over second-place Tampa Bay (82-52), which beat Miami in extra innings on Wednesday night.

“I think we’re still playing really good baseball, you know?” said Gibson, who allowed four runs in the second and three in the third vs. Chicago. “I think it’s more frustrating when you have a good homestand, and then you come out and put those type of three innings to start the game and just don’t give the team a chance.”

The Orioles went 18-9 in August for their second-best month of 2023, behind only March/April (19-9). It would take a large September collapse for them not to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2016.

So it’s not too early to start thinking about how Baltimore will line up its starting pitchers when it almost assuredly gets there.

While Gibson struggled this month, the young trio of Kyle Bradish (2.12 ERA in five starts), Dean Kremer (2.37 ERA in five starts) and Grayson Rodriguez (2.64 ERA in five starts) each pitched exceptionally well. Those three are proving they could be Baltimore’s best starting options come October as long as they stay fresh -- which the O’s have been aiming to do by utilizing a six-man rotation for the past three weeks.

In the postseason, teams only need three or four starters due to off-days and breaks between series. If Bradish, Kremer and Rodriguez all start playoff games, then there will be fewer potential opportunities for Gibson, Jack Flaherty and others.

That’s why September could be crucial for Gibson, who plans to work hard to figure out why August didn’t go as well as previous months this season, such as March/April (3.93 ERA in six starts), May (3.86 ERA in six starts) and July (4.21 ERA in six starts).

“It’s been really inconsistent, not limiting damage,” said Gibson, an 11-year big league veteran. “I’ll dig in, kind of see what it looks like. I’ve been in this spot before. Just got to keep grinding, keep looking for ways to get better.”

The Orioles staked Gibson to a 4-0 lead in the finale by rallying against White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease in the first inning. Anthony Santander hit an RBI double, Ryan O’Hearn and Adam Frazier added RBI singles, while Jordan Westburg had a sacrifice fly.

But Gibson gave up a season-high-tying three-homers --  a pair of two-run blasts to Andrew Vaughn and Oscar Colás in the second and a solo shot by Luis Robert Jr. in the third.

“They had a nice approach off of [Gibson],” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He was throwing a lot of sinkers early. They weren’t trying to pull it, they were using the big part of the field and drove a couple balls out to center on him. … Just had a rough time there in those two innings.”

As Gibson seeks to correct his recent issues, Baltimore is set to embark on a three-city, nine-game road trip during which it will play the D-backs, Angels and Red Sox.

The Orioles aren’t going to dwell on a disappointing loss to the struggling White Sox (53-81), as they’ve continually done a great job of turning the page on any setbacks this season. It’s why they’re in such a good position -- one that will lead to difficult lineup/rotation/roster decisions as the postseason draws near.

“You look at it as the total picture, you take a 6-3 homestand,” Hyde said. “We’re going to enjoy an off-day tomorrow and go play the Diamondbacks.”