How big a blunder does it have to be to steal the spotlight from a 22-0 defeat? Julio Rodríguez has managed to do exactly that. That momentary lapse is earning him some of the harshest criticism of his career. 

“Julio Rodríguez should be benched for a week,” Dan Clark wrote on X with a video showing the unbelievable error from the 25-year-old. 

Rodríguez was in deep center field when Christian Yelich hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded at the bottom of the 8th. It was a routine play for him, and he gloved it safely to make the second out of the inning. But he lost count and threw it to the stands.

As the players looked at him in disbelief, Rodríguez figured it out in a moment.

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The $209.3 million star was holding his head with both hands, shaking it with frustration, realizing that he had just awarded 2 runs to the opponents, adding to the already disastrous game. It barely took a few minutes for the fans to flood social media with reactions. 

On the other end, the Milwaukee Brewers had a phenomenal day on the field on Tuesday.

They were almost square with the Seattle Mariners, with a 1-0 lead entering the bottom of the 5th. But it started going downhill for the Mariners as they allowed 5 runs in that inning.

They entered the bottom of the 8th with a 13-0 scoreline. And when Rodríguez made that blunder, it was already 19-0. Milwaukee finally stopped at 22-0, matching the highest shutout record in the modern era of MLB (since 1900).

This was Seattle’s biggest shutout loss in their 50-year franchise history, surpassing their 15-0 defeat against the Minnesota Twins in 1977. 

But despite such a huge loss, Julio Rodríguez found himself at the center of the conversation. This is not the first instance for the 3x All-Star.

From the baserunning mistake in 2024 to misreading the wall in 2025, he has earned significant backlash from the fans and critics. But the mental lapse went well beyond his previous gaffes. 

However, Brewers manager Pat Murphy had a different perspective.

Instead of seeing it as something totally unacceptable, he said, “I could be guilty of that too. It can happen.”

But not everyone is as understanding as Murphy, especially MLB fans.

Fans were certainly not that forgiving

“This kind of error is inexcusable,” wrote one fan. 

Another one joined the bandwagon, saying, “That kind of mistake stings even more in a blowout.”

But some of them are more annoyed with the pitcher throwing an unusual pitch that eventually could have ended in a double play. 

One fan commented, “WHY is he pitching like it’s the homerun derby?????”

Most Brewers fans were frustrated with the error and wanted strict actions. “Players today just don’t give a hoot. Fundamentals are lacking. I’d levy a fine as well. Another microcosm of society,” read one comment. 

Another guy wrote, “The whole team should be benched.” 

After winning back-to-back games against the Houston Astros, fans thought the Mariners would keep up with that streak. One joked, “Well, he just ruined the come back!”

But there was hardly anything Julio Rodríguez could do to bring the Mariners back into the fight. Even if he hadn’t made the mistake, it would still be a huge loss for them. Yet, that wouldn’t justify the blunder.