Rainiers rally past Aviators in ninth for dramatic 9-7 win
Tacoma scored four in the ninth at Las Vegas Ballpark, with Brock Rodden’s go-ahead hit and Victor Labrada’s three-RBI night sealing a 9-7 comeback.
Tacoma stayed close long enough to turn Las Vegas’ lead into a missed chance, scoring four times in the ninth for a 9-7 win at Las Vegas Ballpark. Brock Rodden delivered the go-ahead hit, Victor Labrada drove in three runs to match his season high, and Alex Hoppe finished the last two innings without allowing a run.
The Rainiers had to dig out of an early hole after Las Vegas grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first and then surged ahead 4-1 in the third on Darell Hernaiz’s three-run homer. Tacoma answered in the second when Labrada tripled in a run, then pulled even with a three-run fourth that erased the deficit and turned the game back into a tight contest after the Aviators had briefly seized control.
That response mattered against a Las Vegas club that entered the night at 52-31, the best overall record in Triple-A, after clinching the Pacific Coast League’s first-half title and a playoff berth. The Aviators had also spent a season-long 12-game road trip before returning home for a six-game homestand that included three games against Tacoma from July 7-9. The Rainiers had already opened the series with a 9-5 loss the night before, so the ninth-inning rally offered an immediate answer.
Michael Arroyo added another layer to the comeback by recording his first Triple-A hit and RBI, a milestone that came while Tacoma kept stacking competitive at-bats against one of the league’s most accomplished teams. The Rainiers improved to 38-51 with the win, and the finish showed the kind of lineup depth that can change a game late when the order keeps turning over.
The result also fit a familiar pattern between the clubs. Tacoma had beaten Las Vegas 9-7 on June 7, 2025, behind Tyler Locklear’s eighth-inning homer, and had already claimed a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Aviators at Cheney Stadium on May 2, 2026, when Colt Emerson ended it with a ninth-inning fielder’s choice. This time, Rodden’s hit and Hoppe’s scoreless close delivered the final blow.
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