Pedro Martinez Hopes Red Sox Will ‘Surprise Everybody’ In Playoffs

Pedro Martinez wants to see the Boston Red Sox make some noise in October.

Boston can clinch a playoff spot with a win or Houston Astros loss on Friday. They’d make their second postseason appearance in seven years since winning the World Series in 2017.

Martinez experienced a magical Red Sox run when snapping the franchise’s title drought in 2004. Now watching as a TBS analyst, the Hall of Fame pitcher wished for another memorable postseason when asked for an American League playoff hot take.

“I would love to see Boston, with the young core that they have, at least make it to where it counts,” Martinez said. “So that the kids can really achieve the experience of and see what it’s like. And maybe, I don’t know, they will surprise everybody.”

Vegas isn’t counting on a deep Red Sox run. They’re listed below eight teams at +1900 odds to win the World Series on FanDuel Sportsbook and are +800 to win the American League pennant.

The Red Sox can no longer win the division or the AL’s first wild-card spot, so they’d start the postseason on the road. Boston is 41-40 away from Fenway Park this season.

Then again, the AL looks up for grabs. The current six playoff teams, led by the 91-68 Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, enter the regular season’s final weekend separated by just five games.

Boston boasts the AL’s second-best run differential (+109) behind the Yankees and should have Garrett Crochet available to pitch a potential Game 1 on Tuesday. The offense has struggled without Roman Anthony, but Ceddanne Rafaela and Masataka Yoshida could be heating up at the right time.

The Red Sox can punch their playoff ticket by defeating the Detroit Tigers on Friday night in a game streaming exclusively on Apple TV+.