8/20/26
(Milwaukee, WI)
Brewers 22, Mariners 0 (Game One, August 18th)
There are bad losses, there are embarrassing losses, and then there are nights like Tuesday.
The Seattle Mariners walked into American Family Field looking to build off a series victory over the Houston Astros. Instead, they walked out of Milwaukee on the wrong side of one of the most lopsided games in Major League Baseball history.
The Milwaukee Brewers blasted the Mariners 22-0 Tuesday night, tying the modern-era record for the largest shutout in MLB history. The 22-run outburst also tied a Brewers franchise record for runs in a game.
For the first four innings, it appeared Seattle might have a chance to keep the game competitive. That illusion disappeared quickly in the fifth.
Milwaukee scored five runs in the 5th inning to turn a 1-0 game into a 6-0 advantage.
Jackson Chourio started the scoring with an RBI single before William Contreras added a sacrifice fly. Christian Yelich then delivered the biggest blow of the inning, launching a three-run homer to put the Brewers firmly in control.
From there, the floodgates opened.
David Hamilton launched a three-run homer in the sixth, followed by a two-run shot from Jake Bauers. Milwaukee added three more runs in the seventh before completely blowing the game open with a nine-run eighth inning.
Luis Lara capped the offensive explosion with his first career home run, giving Milwaukee four home runs on the night.
The Brewers finished with 22 hits, with virtually the entire lineup getting involved in the offensive barrage.
For the Mariners, Tuesday night was a complete team failure.
The offense couldn’t get anything going against Milwaukee starter Kyle Harrison, who tossed five scoreless innings while striking out eight. Seattle was shut out and never seriously threatened to make the game competitive after the 5th.
The pitching staff had an equally miserable evening.
Bryce Miller surrendered six runs during Milwaukee’s five-run 5th inning, including Yelich’s three-run blast. The bullpen couldn’t stop the bleeding, and Milwaukee continued piling on throughout the final four innings.
Then came an especially ugly moment in the 8th.
Julio Rodríguez caught a sacrifice fly for what appeared to be the second out of the inning, but mistakenly threw the ball into the stands believing the inning was over. The error allowed additional Milwaukee runs to score and added another bizarre chapter to an already disastrous night.
The 22-0 defeat was the worst shutout loss in Mariners history and tied the modern-era MLB record for the largest shutout. Seattle had previously never been shut out by more than 16 runs.
It was also a remarkable turnaround from just two days earlier, when the Mariners defeated Houston 3-2 to take their series against the Astros and keep themselves in the American League Wild Card race.
Now Seattle has to try to put this one behind it quickly.
One game does not erase everything the Mariners have accomplished this season, but a loss this ugly exposes every weakness at once. The offense disappeared, the pitching collapsed and the defense committed costly mistakes.
Notable Performances
Mariners
- Brendan Donovan- 1-3, 2B
- Dominic Canzone- 1-4, 2B
- Bryce Miller (L, 4-7)- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
Brewers
- Luis Lara- 3-6, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
- David Hamilton- 3-5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB
- Kyle Harrison (W, 10-3)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
Mariners 7, Brewers 5 (Game Two, August 19th)
After a historic and embarrassing loss the night before, the Seattle Mariners would need to do anything to bounce back from the 22-0 drubbing they suffered at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night. Logan Gilbert would be the guy on the mound looking to steer the ship back on course against former Dodger pitching prospect in Dustin May.
Seattle would have the hot start this time around after back-to-back singles out of the gate by Brendan Donovan and Randy Arozarena to put two on right out of the gate. Dominic Canzone kept things rolling by shooting the gap in left center for his 21st double of the season. Both Donovan and Arozarena scored to make it 2-0 early. Dustin May settled down and retired the next two, but Cole Young drew a walk to extend the 1st. Cal Raleigh joined him with a walk to load the bases for the returning Taylor Ward who battled back from an 0-2 hole. Ward dunked a base hit into right field to plate two more and give Logan Gilbert a 4-0 lead before he ever took the mound.
Logan Gilbert would have a pretty quiet bottom of the 1st outside of a walk and the Mariners continued to have Dustin May’s number in the 2nd. A couple of singles by Brendon Donovan and Dominic Canzone along with a hit by pitch for Randy Arozarena loaded the bases with nobody out. Julio Rodríguez plated a run with a sacrifice fly before Josh Naylor pulled a hard grounder down the right field line to score two more. It was all Seattle early as Dustin May lasted just two innings while the Mariners had a 7-0 lead.
Milwaukee is a team nobody can ever coast against and they began to fight back in the bottom of the 2nd. Christian Yelich walked to begin the inning but Gilbert came back to retire the next two while keeping the former MVP at first base. Joey Ortiz would stand in for the Brew Crew and delivered some energy. A fastball did not quite get in on his hands enough and Ortiz deposited it out to left field for his seventh home run of the season. The two-run shot had Milwaukee on the board with Seattle leading 7-2.
The bullpen of the Brewers quieted things down and did not allow the M’s to break things open even more. Logan Gilbert did not have his best stuff but did not fall apart and battled through his outing. He exited after two walks to start the 6th and gave way to Eduard Bazardo who would give up a single to Andrew Vaughn to load the bases with nobody out. Bazardo minimized the damage with a strikeout of Luis Lara before giving up a sacrifice fly to Joey Ortiz. A strikeout of Cooper Pratt would end the inning and the bases loaded, no out threat netted the Brewers just a run with a 7-3 score.
José A. Ferrer spun a scoreless 7th and with the amount of bullpen injuries, Dan Wilson went to Seranthony Domínguez for the 8th. It was not smooth sailing for the new Mariner as a walk and a single led to an RBI single by Joey Ortiz to make it 7-4 with the tying run at the plate and nobody out. Seattle would trade a run for two outs as Cooper Pratt hit into a double play while Lara scored, making it 7-5. Gabe Speier came on to get the last out and did so by getting Brice Turang to groundout, but the game was getting very tight with Seattle’s lead cut to 7-5 going into the 9th.
Milwaukee’s bullpen kept it a two-run game and combined for seven scoreless innings after the short start by Dustin May. Andrés Muñoz would look to close it out and he was lights out on Wednesday night. He started the inning by getting Jackson Chourio to fly out to new right fielder Victor Robles before striking out Jake Bauers for the second out. William Contreras was first pitch swinging and sent a harmless grounder to Brock Rodden at short to end this one. While it didn’t remain the blowout the Mariners looked to have early, it was still a strong bounce back win for the M’s as they downed the Brewers 7-5 to even the series.
Notable Performances
Mariners
- Dominic Canzone- 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
- Josh Naylor- 3-5, 2 RBI, SB
- Logan Gilbert (W, 10-7)- 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO
Brewers
- Joey Ortiz- 2-3, HR, 4 RBI, R
- Jackson Chourio- 3-5, SB
- Dustin May (L, 6-8)- 2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
Brewers 7, Mariners 4 (Game Three, August 20th)
After the series started in one of the most dominant wins in MLB history, the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers would have a winner-take-all game three for the rubber game of the series on Thursday. With a chance at a 5-4 road trip, the Mariners would seek a very good road series win with George Kirby on the hill after a bumpy outing in Houston. For Milwaukee, it would be a lefty in Robert Gasser who would hope to give the bullpen a little lighter workload than they had on Wednesday.
For as good of a start as the Mariners got off to on Wednesday in game two, they got off to an equally bad start in the finale. George Kirby could not catch a break in the bottom of the 1st with a single by Brice Turang and a walk to Jake Bauers putting runners on first and second with one out. Gary Sánchez really got things going for Milwaukee with his ninth double of the season to score Turang and Bauers and make it 2-0 early. That was just the tip of the iceberg as a Christian Yelich single was followed by an RBI single by Joey Ortiz to make it 3-0. Garrett Mitchell hit a bouncer over Josh Naylor’s head and down the right field line for his own two-run double. David Hamilton followed with yet another RBI double and the massive inning was complete. Milwaukee tagged Kirby for six runs in the 1st and had a commanding 6-0 lead.
Seattle would be able to show some signs of life in the 2nd and did not just roll over. Taylor Ward remained at first after a leadoff walk with two outs but Brock Rodden extended the inning with a single to left. It would be Brendan Donovan getting the M’s on the board as he continued his hot stretch with his seventh double of the season. Ward and Rodden both scored easily as the M’s were on the board, trailing 6-2.
George Kirby got out of trouble in the bottom of the 2nd thanks to a double play and also stranded a Garrett Mitchell double in the 3rd. Seattle put together another good opportunity against Robert Gasser in the 4th with a leadoff walk by Cole Young followed by a single for Jhonny Pereda to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Seattle could not push a run in after a Rodden strikeout and a Donovan lineout to first. With two outs, Randy Arozarena came to the plate and took a ball that got to the back stop which did allow Young to score to make it 6-3. The Brewers made a pitching change in the middle of the AB but it didn’t work as Chad Patrick walked Arozarena. Dominic Canzone came through with an RBI single and just like that we had a ball game with Milwaukee leading 6-4.
Seattle also had to go to the bullpen early as José A. Ferrer took over in the 4th. Both bullpens were terrific as the scoring was brought to a screeching halt. Milwaukee’s bullpen had been terrific all series but it was Michael Rucker standing out for the M’s with 2 2/3 scoreless innings with just one walk allowed. Unfortunately for the M’s, they once again struggled to get things going against the Brewers bullpen. They did get a couple of walks in the 8th but a controversial decision by Dan Wilson to pinch hit Weston Wilson for Brock Rodden didn’t pay off and the M’s left two in scoring position in the 8th.
Milwaukee tagged on one against Jhonathan Díaz in the 8th on Garrett Mitchell’s ninth home run of the season. A three-run deficit would be tough to overcome for the Mariners against Milwaukee closer Trevor Megill. It was in fact too tall of a task for Seattle as Megill came in for the 9th and sat the Mariners down in order despite hard contact from Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodríguez as both line drives were caught by Mitchell in center. Seattle showed some fight in the rubber game but fell to the MLB-best Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 in the finale.
Notable Performances
Mariners
- Brendan Donovan- 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
- Dominic Canzone- 1-5, RBI
- George Kirby (L, 8-10)- 3.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
Brewers
- Garrett Mitchell- 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Gary Sánchez- 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
- Robert Gasser (ND)- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO
What’s Next
Seattle (60-68) continues to drop series after series without really losing ground in the AL West. That is because Houston lost another two out of three to the Angels but Texas did win two out of three against Washington. The Astros remain atop the AL West but their division lead over the Rangers is down to just one game while the Mariners trail by four. The Astros wrap up their homestand this weekend with a three-game series against the Athletics while the Rangers host the Angels for three. Seattle sits three back of Texas and Minnesota for the final wild card spot.
Despite the Mariners returning home, the difficulty does not relent as the M’s will welcome two current NL playoff teams to T-Mobile Park. First up are the Chicago Cubs who currently hold the top wild card spot in the National League. Chicago had been red hot since the All-Star Break before a hiccup against St. Louis but bounced back in a big way by taking two out of three in the Crosstown Classic thanks to two walk-off wins. Chicago has been a great offensive team but has lacked the starting pitching needed to compete with Milwaukee in the NL Central. Despite that, Chicago will be coming in hot and with an offense that can really test the M’s and especially the debuting Kade Anderson.
There is always going to be the MVP argument for Shohei Ohtani. He is one of one and is always in the mix. However, the current odds-on favorite to take home the award is Chicago’s stellar outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. PCA is a legit five-tool player and is the face of the franchise already in the Windy City. The centerfielder is arguably the best defender in the NL and is equally dangerous at the plate. PCA leads the Cubs in almost every category including homers (31), RBI (79), hits (136), average (.279), and is fifth in stolen bases in baseball with 31. The young star was in the MVP conversation last season before falling flat in the second half but that doesn’t seem to be the case this year. He has a 1.002 OPS this month and has four homers and six runs batted in in his last four games.
- Game One, Friday 7:10pm- Matthew Boyd (8-2, 4.02 ERA) vs. Emerson Hancock (7-7, 3.30 ERA)
- Game Two, Saturday 4:15pm (FOX)- David Peterson (7-7, 5.29 ERA) vs. Kade Anderson (MLB Debut)
- Game Three, Sunday 1:10pm- Shota Imanaga (8-9, 3.77 ERA) vs. Bryan Woo (9-8, 4.10 ERA)
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