Rainiers erupt for 18 hits, top Oklahoma City 10-5 behind balanced attack

Tacoma’s offense looked more like a repeatable formula than a one-night explosion, and the evidence was spread all through the lineup. The Rainiers battered Oklahoma City for 18 hits in a 10-5 win Friday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, then backed it up with pressure from the middle and lower half of the order that never let the Comets settle in.

Jhonny Pereda, Brock Rodden, Victor Labrada and Carson Taylor were at the center of it. The four combined to go 13-for-19 with two doubles, five RBI, a walk and eight runs scored, while Tacoma’s 5-through-9 hitters accounted for 15 of the club’s 18 hits. That depth mattered. It meant the Rainiers did not need one slugger to carry the night, only a steady stream of traffic, bunts, doubles and clean contact.

The second inning set the tone. Pereda singled to open the frame, Labrada and Rodden followed with perfect bunt singles to load the bases, Taylor lifted a sacrifice fly for the first run, and Brian O’Keefe then ripped a double into the right-field corner to make it 3-0. Oklahoma City answered quickly in the bottom half, as James Tibbs III and Jack Suwinski helped set up Noah Miller’s two-run single, trimming the lead to 3-2 and briefly making the game look like another tight Pacific Coast League fight.

Tacoma pulled away in the fourth and fifth. Rodden beat out an infield single, Taylor doubled and Ryan Bliss grounded out to bring in a run. In the fifth, Brennen Davis doubled, Pereda drove him home, and Labrada and Taylor kept the inning moving before O’Keefe benefited from an error that stretched the margin to 7-2. The Rainiers kept stacking quality at-bats until the Comets could not keep pace.

The bullpen finished it cleanly. Tacoma’s relievers covered 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five, preserving the cushion for Tucker Mosser, who earned the win and moved to 2-0 with a 3.06 ERA. Ferris took the loss for Oklahoma City and fell to 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA. The result lifted Tacoma to 12-13, even with the Comets, and evened the series one day after Tacoma dropped the opener 5-4. It also added another reminder that Oklahoma City has now allowed 18 hits for the second time in five games, while Tacoma’s offense has shown it can win without leaning on one star.