Ex-Red Sox Ace Joins Pedro Martinez with Rare MLB Record originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Very few pitchers have ever been as good at their peak as Pedro Martinez was.The Boston Red Sox all-time great was dynamic pretty much from the moment he arrived in MLB, and then he held that level of performance for most of his career.Another former Red Sox ace can make an intriguing case to be in the conversation when discussing consistent dominance: Chris Sale.Sale has now made 330 career starts at the MLB level, and he has 2,581 strikeouts and a 2.99 ERA.That sounds pretty good, right? It's actually so rare that only Pedro has done it before.OptaStats shared this post, noting that Sale and Martinez are alone in this club:The @Braves' Chris Sale has combined for 2581 strikeouts and a 2.99 ERA as a starter in his career.The only other player in MLB history to have at least 2500 strikeouts and a sub-3.00 ERA through 330 career starts is Pedro Martinez. pic.twitter.com/C2xeKep5cn OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 23, 2026MORE:The unforgettable feeling of 15 in a rowSale pitches for the Atlanta Braves now after a strong tenure in Boston (which followed his early-career starring role with the Chicago White Sox), and it seems like age hasn't slowed him down one bit.It's tough to know what will happen in the closing stages of a pitcher's career. Even for the best, it can get tougher -- like it has for the likes of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.Martinez peaked in Boston and will always be pictured first and foremost in a Red Sox uniform.Sale's legacy will be tied less distinctly to one uniform, because he was so notable for multiple ballclubs, including Boston.Regardless of that, though, it's cool that Sale and Martinez are now tied in history like this. Yes, the stats are a bit arbitrary, but they're also mightily impressive.More Red SoxLatest Red Sox news2026 Red Sox schedule2026 Red Sox rosterComplete history of Red Sox championships