Tacoma’s 22-hit outburst, Brock Rodden powers 17-2 rout of El Paso

Tacoma turned a tense road series into a runaway with one of its sharpest offensive nights of the year, pounding El Paso 17-2 on Friday and piling up season highs with 22 hits, four home runs and nine extra-base hits. Brock Rodden supplied the biggest swing and the loudest line, launching two homers, including a grand slam, and driving in eight runs as the Rainiers controlled the game almost from the opening frame.

The scoring started when Victor Robles, on a Major League rehab assignment, worked a one-out walk and Brennen Davis followed with a double to bring him home. Tacoma kept stacking innings from there, scoring in the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth, and the fourth inning became the turning point when the Rainiers sent eight men to the plate in a four-run burst that fully separated the clubs. Rodden’s power was central to the avalanche, and Colt Emerson and Brian O’Keefe added solo homers to give Tacoma four long balls on a night when nearly every hard contact found either grass or seats.

Rodden’s breakout carried extra weight because it came from a 25-year-old Seattle Mariners draft pick from 2023 who entered the night with a .277 average, .336 on-base percentage and .751 OPS. In one game, he went from productive regular to the face of the club’s most complete offensive performance of the season. Tacoma did not just swing for the fences, either. The 22-hit total showed a lineup that stayed patient enough to create traffic and aggressive enough to punish mistakes once it did.

Casey Lawrence made sure the lead never loosened. The 38-year-old veteran right-hander worked 6.0 innings of one-run ball and picked up Tacoma’s 11th quality start of the season, the most in Triple-A at that point. Lawrence, who has extensive MLB experience, allowed the offense to keep piling on while the Rainiers also turned four double plays behind him.

The result carried real series significance. Tacoma had dropped a 10-9 extra-inning game to El Paso on May 5 and lost another 11-10 battle on May 6, both on the same trip to Southwest University Park. This time, the Rainiers flipped that script with a 15-run margin and improved to 17-20, while El Paso fell to 18-19. For one night, Tacoma’s lineup did more than answer back. It overwhelmed the series and announced how dangerous it can be when contact quality and power arrive together.