4. Pedro Martinez – Game 5 ’99 ALDS
While we remember Pedro for his electric starts, ironically enough his only appearance on this list comes in the form of a relief outing.
Heading into Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, the Red Sox had found themselves forcing a decisive winner-take-all match up after earlier being down 2-0 in the best of 5 series. With Brett Saberhagen and Charles Nagy opposing each other on 3 days rest, this one soon became a battle of the bullpens when the score of this game stood at 8-7 Indians after 3 innings.
For the Red Sox, all manager Jimy Williams thought they needed was Pedro – and he was right. Even though Pedro hadn’t pitched since coming out of Game 1 with a back injury, a hampered Pedro was still better than most other options a manager had at his disposal. Pedro didn’t disappoint either. In 6 dazzling innings of relief, Pedro didn’t surrender a single hit and struck out 8 Cleveland hitters.
The Red Sox would finally take the lead on a Troy O’Leary 3-run home run in the 7th inning and Pedro finished up the rest, leading the Sox to a 12-8 victory. Without Martinez and his 6-no hit innings Boston’s chances of advancing to the ALCS would have diminished significantly. While he put himself at tremendous risk by pitching through an injury, he lifted up his entire team and an entire region with a performance that will never be forgotten.