There are painful losses, and then there is what the Seattle Mariners experienced Tuesday with a 22-0 thrashing by the league-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

Seattle, which entered play with a minus-23 run differential, walked out of American Family Field with a minus-45 mark that would rank as the third best in what has been an ignominious American League West division.

The 22 runs allowed by four Mariners pitchers, one of whom was a position player, tied for the most given up by a Seattle club in franchise history. On the other side, the Brewers’ 22 runs tied the record for the most scored in their franchise history.

As is usually the case, the history didn’t end there, either.

Tuesday’s drubbing tied for the largest shutout win since the start of 1888. To find a bigger margin of victory, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, you’d have to go back to June 28, 1887, when the Philadelphia Quakers dismantled the Indianapolis Hoosiers to the tune of 24-0.

The largest by a team at home?

Well, that honor goes to the 1885 New York Giants, whose 24-0 pummeling of the Buffalo Bisons has stood the test of time.

Only two other teams — the 2004 Cleveland Indians and 1975 Pittsburgh Pirates — have matched a shutout of Tuesday’s magnitude, with equal 22-0 hammerings of the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs, respectively.

It was a big night for Luis Lara and the Milwaukee Brewers. (Aaron Gash / Associated Press)

In all, 12 Brewers players reached the plate 50 times at American Family Field; only one (Brice Turang) did not record a hit. Each of them, however, managed to reach base at least once, combining for an even 22 hits and 22 runs scored. Four players hit a home run, including rookie Luis Lara, who clubbed his first long ball as part of a 3-for-6 evening.

Tuesday’s contest wasn’t an immediate blowout. In fact, through the first four innings, the biggest source of noise was a tornado warning for Milwaukee County, as the Brewers were held to just one run on four hits. The dam burst in the fifth, and runs continued to pour in during each of the next four innings, including nine in the bottom of the eighth, when a hapless Leo Rivas was tasked with getting the Mariners back to their team hotel.

Julio Rodriguez forgot how many outs there were and gifted the Brewers their 21st run of the night pic.twitter.com/GiCBX6ABxu

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 19, 2026

As if things weren’t already bleak, Milwaukee was gifted its 21st run after Julio Rodríguez forgot how many outs there were in the bottom of the eighth. Seattle’s center fielder turned a routine fly ball — and just the second out of the inning — into a souvenir for fans, allowing one more Brewer to score on what was originally a sacrifice fly.

The helplessness by Seattle also extended to its lineup, as the Mariners were unable to cash in a single run against Gary Sánchez, who completed the shutout as a position player pitching. The Mariners lineup was limited to just five hits, striking out 10 times against four walks.

For the Brewers, it was business as usual for the club that leads MLB with a 78-48 record with 36 games left to play. On the other side, it was more misery for the Mariners. Last year’s AL West champions have now dropped seven of their last 10 games. At 59-67, they sit four games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West and three back of the AL’s third and final wild-card spot.

The schedule won’t lighten up for Seattle for a bit; the club still has two games remaining against the Brewers before playing host to the Chicago Cubs (74-53, first in the NL wild card) and the Philadelphia Phillies (69-58, second in the NL wild card). From there, the Mariners will hit the road against the resurgent Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays to close out August.

If there is any consolation, it’s the fact that the rest of the AL West has been equally futile. The Astros’ 63-63 record is the highest mark in the division, and every club is at least minus-32 runs or worse in run differential.

There are few colder realities in football than discovering your club has decided you are expendable.

Colder still, perhaps, is discovering others knew before you did.

Arsenal are hoping to sell Gabriel Martinelli. The club have welcomed offers for the 25-year-old Brazil international, and recently received a €45million (£38.4m; $51.8m) bid from Galatasaray.

The problem is that Martinelli himself has not been directly informed of Arsenal’s plans — and nor, until now, has he sought to leave. The player’s camp have made clear to sporting director Andrea Berta he is not interested in a move to Turkey, and would only consider leaving for a league and club that meets his ambition.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with Arsenal deciding to sell Martinelli. Elite football demands difficult, sometimes brutal decisions.

Mikel Arteta has spent years stripping unhelpful sentimentality out of Arsenal. That ruthlessness has largely served the club well. Players have been discarded, standards raised and difficult calls made in pursuit of a team capable of winning the biggest prizes. Last season, that project came to fruition when Arsenal lifted a first Premier League title for 22 years.

Martinelli would not be the first to be sacrificed on the altar of progress. Other fan favourites, such as Aaron Ramsdale and Emile Smith Rowe, were also sold when Arteta deemed the team to have evolved beyond them.

Martinelli has been with Arsenal for seven years. Although he scored 10 goals in knockout competitions last season, including six in the Champions League, 30 Premier League appearances yielded just one goal.

Gabriel Martinelli has been at Arsenal for seven years (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

He signed his most recent contract in February 2023. That is due to expire next summer, although Arsenal hold an option for an extra year. There have been no talks about an extension. Arsenal recognise this may be one of their last chances to secure a significant fee.

In recent windows, Arteta and Arsenal have been open to trading Martinelli to refresh their options on the left. Christos Tzolis has already been signed to replace Leandro Trossard, and Martinelli can not have failed to notice the high-profile pursuits of compatriot Vinicius Junior and Morgan Rogers.

Being left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad for the Community Shield does not augur well for Martinelli’s future. Arteta named Bukayo Saka and 16-year-old Max Dowman among his nine substitutes, ostensibly both covering the right-wing position — yet there was no place for Martinelli. As Arsenal celebrated winning the 2026-27 curtain-raiser, Martinelli stayed largely on the sidelines.

He looked like a player unsure of his place. It is painful to feel unwanted.

It is painful for many Arsenal fans, too. Martinelli is loved by many supporters. He’s a dedicated professional whose combination of skill and endeavour made him one of the faces of Arsenal’s rebuild. Once Smith Rowe’s contribution began to wane, Martinelli took over as Saka’s partner in crime.

When Arsenal lifted the Premier League trophy in May, Martinelli’s comments made his love for the club plain.

“We didn’t just build a team, we built a family, an identity, and something the fans could believe in again,” he wrote on Instagram. “To see this club back where it belongs is one of the proudest moments of my career.”

All good things come to an end. Football clubs have to determine when to replace players — even when the incumbent is popular, committed and useful.

But after seven years of service, perhaps Martinelli is entitled to expect more candour from his employer.

Arsenal aren’t obliged to ask anyone’s permission before exploring the market — clubs routinely sound out interest and explore deals informally.

But at what stage does that tip over into actively working to secure a sale? If Arsenal are seeking to engineer Martinelli’s exit, surely the player deserves to know where he stands. Martinelli is entitled, too, to turn down the move if it does not appeal.

There may be a simple explanation: perhaps Arsenal have not told Martinelli they intend to sell him because they are not certain they will. For all the talk of upgrading, Rogers and Vinicius Jr have eluded them, and the list of plausible upgrades is dwindling. This may be pure pragmatism — something we have come to expect from Arteta, and indeed Berta.

Alternatively, perhaps Arsenal’s actions are driven by an increasing pressure to sell. The club entered the window with an ambitious sales plan, most of which has not yet materialised. Arsenal are now having to pursue sales more aggressively by soliciting bids from other clubs. Martinelli may be caught up in that — as may Myles Lewis-Skelly, reputedly offered to Manchester United and Chelsea by intermediaries.

It is not a straightforward situation. Arteta is clearly skilled at fostering a sense of togetherness and unity among the squad. When a player no longer forms part of his plans, however, he has shown a capacity to be ruthless. Elite sport demands that mentality.

The danger occurs if that ruthlessness veers into institutional coldness. Players and agents take note of how players are treated. And the remaining squad learns something about what loyalty to the club is ultimately worth.

Perhaps this is simply what Arsenal becoming a serious superclub looks like. Perhaps there is always another upgrade to find, another margin to exploit, another player whose value can be converted into somebody better.

The higher Arsenal climb, the finer those margins become, and the more ruthless Arteta and Arsenal may have to be.

Martinelli felt he found a “family” at Arsenal. How the club handle his uncertain future may determine whether that feeling endures.

The youngest player to pick up sustained minutes for Leeds United last season was Brenden Aaronson. The American turns 26 in October.

In a promoted team fighting to buck the recent trend of immediate relegation, Daniel Farke did not want to risk inexperienced players. Recruitment was focused on the 25-to-28-year-old bracket.

This pre-season, with senior figures returning late or leaving for pastures new, academy players have made up the numbers. The expectation, however, is that once transfers and injuries settle down, there will be little room for inexperienced players.

The Leeds squad has at least two seasoned options in virtually every position. The one department where stars could align is at left wing-back, where Leeds have a vacancy and, arguably, their brightest youth prospect. United need to recruit a backup for Gabriel Gudmundsson, who is injured and likely to miss the start of the Premier League season.

James Justin can, and likely will, moonlight at left wing-back, but he is right-footed and better suited to filling in for Jayden Bogle on the right.

It just so happens that Jayden Lienou, the now-18-year-old left-back they took from Manchester City last summer, is building up steam.

Jayden Lienou in action against Wrexham in Florida in July (Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

Lienou graduated to United’s matchday squads in the league over the final weeks of last season, after a stellar first year with the under-21s, and then signed a new contract until 2029. The fact that he had only signed his first contract, to 2028, last summer underlines the impression he has made at Elland Road.

It should be stressed that the club is expected to recruit a more senior option to cover for Gudmundsson, but if anyone is going to break through, Lienou looks the most likely. His call-up to the senior Wales squad in May was telling, too.

Daniel James, who went up against Lienou in training for much of last season, was asked about his team-mate during that Wales camp. He told reporters: “He has been brilliant this season. We have been training against him a lot. He’s a great lad.

“It’ll be great for him this week to experience it, but it always helps to have a few familiar faces coming into camp, too. He thoroughly deserves it. He’s been great since he’s been here and great at Leeds. He’s definitely one for the future, a great player.”

Ethan Ampadu, his captain in West Yorkshire and another Wales international, told the media: “I see him day in and day out at Leeds, and I know the ability he’s got and the levels he can get to, but he’s a hard-working kid. He’s young, he’s got a lot to learn, but I’m sure he can.”

Farke has shown that if a player is good enough, they are old enough. Archie Gray, one of the finest academy graduates from Leeds in recent memory, was a mainstay in the 2023-24 season at 17 years old.

If Lienou shows Farke he can be trusted in the heat of the Premier League, the opportunities will be there. Regardless of what happens this season, Lienou is happy with his progress.

Speaking to the club’s official website after signing his new contract this summer, he said: “I’m probably further ahead than I thought I was going to be when I first signed for Leeds. When me and Scott (Gardner, under-21 head coach) sat down at the start of the season, we set some goals to get to certain situations, milestones in my career, and I’ve exceeded that.”

Gardner spoke about Lienou’s rapid development. He acknowledged that the 18-year-old was far better than what they already had at Thorp Arch when he arrived from City.

“The new faces like Jayden offer something completely different to what we had before and they complement the rest of the players, particularly the younger group coming up,” he told the club website. “We are excited to see where they can go.”

Gardner also said youth football would only take Lienou so far: “There comes a point where under-21s football provides a certain amount for the lads, but after that, they do need to go and experience senior games and they will be much better and more experienced as players and as people.

“We have also had six or seven lads around the first-team training group, so for them to be around Premier League footballers every single day can help them improve as players.”

As he continues to train with the first team, Lienou will hope he can make that leap.