Gibson: Orioles 'one of those juggernauts'

Kyle Gibson wants the baseball world to know that the days of walking over the Baltimore Orioles are over.

Baltimore continued its May surge Thursday with a 3-1 win over the New York Yankees in the Bronx, which moved the young squad three games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the division. Gibson, who shut down the Yankees over seven innings, sees the victory as yet another signal that the O's mean business in 2023.

"I think we're one of those best teams. We're one of those juggernauts," Gibson said postgame, according to Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner.

The Orioles have been playing some dominant baseball this month, winning 11 of their last 15 contests and five consecutive series. Three of those series victories have come against AL East rivals, including taking two of three from the league-best Rays. Thursday's win completed a 5-1 road trip for Baltimore that also featured a sweep of the Blue Jays.

This success comes on the heels of last year's surprising run at a playoff spot that ultimately came up short. It also signals the end of Baltimore's prolonged rebuilding phase that saw the franchise bottom out with multiple 100-loss seasons following its last playoff berth in 2016.

Gibson's only in his first season with the Orioles, but it didn't take him long to sense that this might be a special group. He praised the team's leadership, both young and old, for creating an environment that's allowing them to succeed.

"You look at how this team's made up, and the leaders on this team - not just veteran guys; I'm talking young guys too - you look at how they're competing, they're not fazed by any environment. They're not fazed by any game situation," GIbson said.

He added: "They've got a level head about themselves all the time, and that's just kind of rare for a younger team. So it's allowing these guys to weather storms on slumps, or not get too high when they're playing really well."