It’s October and the Red Sox are still playing baseball–against the Yankees, no less. It seems like as good a time as any to invoke the name of Pedro Martinez, former Red Sox ace and chief curse-breaker for Boston’s championship team in 2004.
Certainly, Red Sox starter Brayan Bello is hoping to bring a little Pedro magic with him on Wednesday night when Boston hopes to knock out the Yankees in the wild-card round and advance to the divisional series. He is in position to do so–Bello credits his off-field work with Martinez for his breakout season here in 2025.
Said Bello on the eve of his big start: “I feel like the coaching staff, the pitching coach and pitching staff also helped me a lot too this year. And the offseason working with Pedro as well. It is a team effort, and I feel like it’s a lot of people that helped me to get to this point, and I am very grateful for that.”
Pedro Martinez Mentored Brayan Bello
Bello had Martinez as his mentor for much of the 2025 season, going back to spring training in Fort Myers. In fact, Bello was something of a question mark for the upcoming season back in February, because he was dealing with a shoulder issue and did not throw in the bullpen until the end of that month.
Martinez guided him through that, and was by Bello’s side when he did his first bullpen session, advising him to take it easy on himself–foreseeing a long season ahead.
As Martinez said at the time: “Heâs young and energetic, and [young pitchers] want to do too much sometimes, and they forget that tomorrow is right there for them too.â
He was right. Tomorrow is very much there for Bello.
Red Sox Can Finish Off Yankees in Game 2
As for pitching under the pressure of Yankee Stadium, Bello is one of the few young pitchers who seems unfazed by the bright lights. That’s a good thing for the Red Sox, who are hoping to sweep the series with a win.
Bello was 11-9 with a 3.35 ERA in his breakout fourth season, and was especially good against the Yankees, going 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts. In his career, he is 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA at Yankee Stadium.
“Obviously super happy for the opportunity to start the game tomorrow here, to be the No. 2 starter,” Bello said. “In this first series, obviously, I have been throwing a lot of big games here, but I feel like this one is going to be different.
“I feel like as soon as you put your step on the field, you feel the pressure from the fans, even when you are in the bullpen and when you go to the mound. For me nothing changed preparation-wise, but I feel like that extra pressure from the fans and from everybody it gets me going.”
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