Bats fall 10-8 in homer-filled slugfest with Indianapolis

By the time the last ball cleared the fence, Louisville and Indianapolis had turned the series opener into a full-blown home run derby, and the Bats were the ones left shaking their heads. Indianapolis beat Louisville 10-8 on Tuesday night at Louisville Slugger Field, with the two clubs combining for 10 home runs, five apiece, in a game that never stopped swinging.

Jhostynxon Garcia was the biggest problem Louisville never solved. Back in the lineup for his first Indians game since April 14 after returning from the injured list, Garcia went 5-for-5 with three home runs, four runs scored and three RBIs. He tied the Indianapolis franchise record for home runs in a game and set the Victory Field-era mark with five hits, a ridiculous night even by Triple-A standards.

Louisville briefly wrestled control away in the fourth inning. Trailing 4-0, the Bats put together a five-run burst that flipped the score to 5-4 and gave the home dugout a jolt. Edwin Arroyo, Michael Toglia and Michael Chavis were part of the push, but every time Louisville seemed ready to settle the game down, Indianapolis answered with another blast. Garcia’s third homer pulled the Indians even at 5-5, and the visitors kept forcing the Bats to chase.

That chase got steeper in the seventh, when Indianapolis scored three more runs to break open a 10-6 lead. Louisville scored twice late, but the comeback never got close enough to threaten the finish. The loss wasted a night when the Bats produced enough offense to stay alive deep into the game, yet could not keep pace with an Indians lineup that kept stacking big swings on top of one another.

The final box score told the whole story. Louisville’s pitching staff allowed 17 hits, Brandon Leibrandt took the loss after giving up five earned runs and four home runs in 5.0 innings, and Caleb Ferguson was tagged for seven hits and five runs in one inning. Nick Dombkowski earned the win for Indianapolis, and Beau Burrows finished it for his second save.

The 10 home runs tied the most in a Triple-A game this season, matching Iowa and St. Paul on April 28. The clubs were scheduled to meet again Wednesday morning at 11:05 a.m. ET, with the Bats already needing a reset after a night when every comeback seemed to run into another ball leaving the yard.