The game tied for the most lopsided shutout loss in baseball's Modern Era


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The season went from bad to embarrassing for the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. The Mariners were blown out 22-0 by the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in a game that tied for the most lopsided shutout loss in baseball's Modern Era (since 1900). The 22 runs tied the franchise records for runs scored by the Brewers and runs allowed by the Mariners.

"Obviously not how we wanted to start this game," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said (via MLB.com). "It just got out of hand. They put up a lot of runs tonight, and we were quiet offensively. It's a tough one to even think about."

Incredibly, it was a 1-0 game through the top of the fifth inning, then the Brewers scored five runs in the fifth, five runs in the sixth, two runs in the seventh, and nine runs in the eighth. Utility infielder Leo Rivas was on the mound for Seattle in that final nine-run frame. Milwaukee used backup catcher Gary Sánchez on the mound to get the game's final three outs.

The highlight -- "highlight" -- of that nine-run eighth inning was Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez losing track of the outs with the bases loaded, and throwing a live ball into the stands thinking the inning was over. It goes down as a sacrifice fly for Christian Yelich and a two-base error for Rodríguez, which scored the 20th and 21st runs of the game.


"You obviously never want to be the guy that does that," Yelich said after the game (via MLB.com). "But it's a long game, you're on defense for a while, and it was kind of chaos there in the last inning with the lineup turning over and all the action going. It just happens sometimes. You lose track of the outs."

Tuesday was the third 22-0 game in the Modern Era. The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 22-0 on Sept. 16, 1975, and Cleveland beat the New York Yankees 22-0 on Aug. 31, 2004. Unlike the Brewers on Tuesday, those Pirates and Cleveland teams scored all 22 runs against actual pitchers. The Brewers beating up on a position player is a sign of the times more than anything.

The largest margin of victory in baseball history is 27 runs in the Texas Rangers' historic 30-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 22, 2007. The Rangers are the only MLB team to ever score 30 runs in a game.

Ultimately, a loss is a loss, regardless of whether it's 1-0 or 22-0. More important than the score is the fact that it was Seattle's eighth loss in the last 11 games. It was the third time in those 11 games that they allowed at least 10 runs. At 59-67, the Mariners are four games out in the AL West and three games behind the third wild-card spot, albeit with six teams ahead of them.

"We've played a lot of good baseball the last several games," Wilson said (via MLB.com). "We need to get back to that. This one, sometimes it goes this way. We've got to come back tomorrow and be ready to find a way."

Tuesday's win improved the Brewers to an MLB-best 78-48. They're 2 ½ games up on the Tampa Bay Rays for baseball's best record, and 4 ½ games up on the Cubs in the NL Central.