In front of his father, Orioles' Andino forces Red Sox into tie with Rays

Robert Andino Jr. dealt the Red Sox a big blow in front of his father. It was the first time his had seen him play in the majors. (Reuters/Joe Giza)

On March 23rd of this year, Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter expressed his delight in beating the Boston Red Sox, which doesn’t seem to be an altogether difficult task six months later:

‎”I’d like to see how smart [Red Sox General Manager] Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay payroll,” he told NorthJersey.com. “You got Carl Crawford cause you paid more than anyone else, and that’s what makes you smarter? That’s why I like whipping their butt. It’s great, knowing those guys with the $205 million payroll are saying, ‘How the hell are they beating us?’”

At first, they weren’t beating them. Boston won eight of the season’s first 11 meetings, including a four-game sweep in early July. Since, however, the question posed at the end of his statement is one Boston has asked over the past couple weeks. The team fighting for their playoff lives has lost four of their past five games against the team in the division’s cellar.

That aforementioned success by Baltimore includes Monday’s 6-3 victory that forced Boston into a tie atop the American League Wild Card division. As of September 1st, the Red Sox led the AL East and had a nine-game lead on Tampa Bay. They are 89-71, the same as the Rays, with two games remaining.

There are many reasons why the Orioles have made Showalter’s gutsy March remarks relevant at this late stage. Among them, despite their 92 losses so far this season, is a confident and dangerous lineup.

Their array of talented hitters made Boston ace Josh Beckett work, taking advantage of his off-night by exploiting his lackluster repertoire. Only his changeup baffled Baltimore with any consistency. The fastball was consistently up in the zone and hit hard, especially in the sixth inning.

Robert Andino delivered the big blow in that frame. The bases were loaded and two were out when the impressive shortstop got ahold of one of those high, lifeless heaters. The pitch was crushed to deep center-field, and was jarred from Jacoby Ellsbury’s glove as the center-fielder ran into the wall. All four runners scored. It was the first time in the 19-year history of Camden Yards a Baltimore player had hit an inside-the-park home-run. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Orioles. A 6-2 lead was theirs.

The team deserved this moment. Andino, personally, deserved it, too.

The 27-year-old has spent parts of seven seasons in the majors, but he had never had the chance to make a significant impact until now. In 137 games this season–59 more than his previous high–he has played excellent defense and is currently hitting a respectable .265 with four homers, 32 rbi’s, 62 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases. And, on this night, he finally got to show Robert Andino Sr. what he can do.

That person is his father, who was in attendance and seeing his son play in a major league game for the first time.

“Can you imagine what it meant to him, regardless of the impact on the game?” Showalter told The Baltimore Sun. “I was really hoping Robert would get a chance to do something to let his dad see what a good year he’s had and what a good player he’s become.”

Andino Jr. certainly did that, helping the Orioles to an impressive victory and, more importantly, keeping Boston without consecutive wins this month.

“I’ve got no words,” he said. “It’s priceless.” He was talking about his performance in front of his dad, but, going back to Showalter’s quote from March, the same could be said about beating Boston.