Round Rock had spent three innings pulling itself out of one hole, only to watch Tacoma punch another with one swing.
The Express erased a three-run deficit in the sixth, tying the game on Cam Cauley’s two-out single, but Axel Sanchez drove a Carter Baumler pitch over the wall in left-center in the seventh. Sanchez’s solo homer held up as the decisive run in a 6-5 Rainiers victory at Dell Diamond.
After Cauley’s hit completed the comeback, Tacoma retired the final 10 Round Rock batters.
The Express had already answered one deficit. Tacoma struck twice against Anthony Veneziano in the second on solo homers by Patrick Wisdom and Stuart Fairchild, but Kyle Higashioka began chipping away in the fourth. On the first pitch of the inning, the rehabbing catcher lifted a towering fly toward left that carried onto the berm for his first home run.
Round Rock drew even an inning later. Jonah Bride walked, and Trevor Hauver reached on an infield single and throwing error that put Bride at third. Keyber Rodriguez followed with a ground-ball single through the left side, bringing Bride home for a 2-2 tie.
Tacoma reclaimed control quickly in the sixth. Ryan Bliss walked, and Leo Rivas reached on a bunt single and an error that moved Bliss to third. Andy Ibáñez singled him home to chase Veneziano, whose line closed at five earned runs over five innings with four strikeouts and two walks.
Baumler nearly contained the inning after entering with two runners aboard. He retired Wisdom and Connor Joe, but Nolan Jones lined a two-out single up the middle that scored Rivas and Ibáñez, stretching the Rainiers’ lead to 5-2.
That cushion lasted only through the bottom of the inning.
Aaron Zavala and Bride singled against Reid VanScoter, and a groundout moved both runners ahead. Rodriguez then sent a fly to second baseman Axel Sanchez. Bride scored behind Zavala and Rodriguez pulled into second with an RBI double.
Cauley finished the rally after working the count full. He lined a ball into left that fell in front of Jones, allowing Rodriguez to race home. The throw arrived too late, Cauley took second behind it and the Express had come all the way back to 5-5.
Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run. Bride went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored twice, while Cauley reached twice, stole a base and drove in the tying run.
The tie survived for one out.
Baumler struck out Nick Raposo to open the seventh before Sanchez launched a 3-1 pitch toward deep left-center. Hauver retreated to the wall, but the drive cleared it for Sanchez’s third homer and Tacoma’s third of the night.
Round Rock did not put another runner aboard. Seth Shuman worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Nick Garcia retired Rodriguez, Cauley and Logan O’Hoppe in the ninth for his fourth save.
Baumler took the loss after allowing one earned run and striking out three over two innings. Alexis Díaz followed with a scoreless eighth, and Gavin Collyer kept Tacoma off the board in the ninth despite allowing two runners to reach.
The Express finished with five runs on eight hits. Their most productive stretch turned a 5-2 game into a tie before the inning was over. One swing later, they were chasing again — and this time, Tacoma never let them back in.