Wendzel homers again, but Indianapolis falls 6-5 in Louisville

Davis Wendzel kept Indianapolis in the fight all afternoon, but the Indians still left Louisville Slugger Field with a 6-5 walk-off loss after Noelvi Marte’s sacrifice fly ended it in the ninth. Wendzel homered for the second straight day, drove in three runs and twice dragged Indianapolis back into a game that swung on one late sequence, even as Louisville kept answering and finally finished the job.

Indianapolis jumped first and looked ready to carry over the momentum from a 10-8 win in the series opener. Enmanuel Valdez lined a two-run single for an early 2-0 lead, then Wendzel turned around the game again with a two-run homer in the third to put the Indians ahead 4-2. Louisville kept pressure on from there, though, and Garrett Hampson’s two-out, two-run triple in the sixth gave the Bats a 5-4 lead and shifted the weight of the game back onto Indianapolis.

The Indians had a chance to seize it back in the seventh when they loaded the bases with no outs, but came away empty. That missed opportunity loomed when Wendzel came through again in the eighth, lining an RBI double to tie the game 5-5 and set up a tense final inning. The effort never turned into a win, however, as Cam Sanders allowed the winning run and Noelvi Marte’s sacrifice fly sent Louisville to the celebration with Indianapolis still one pitch away.

Noah Davis started for Indianapolis and worked 5.0 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, while Thomas Harrington covered 3.0 innings before Sanders took the loss. Louisville used six pitchers in the bullpen game, and Yunior Marte earned the win after the final 1.1 innings. The Bats entered the day at 24-17, with Indianapolis at 16-25, and the result snapped the Indians’ bid to keep control of the series after the slugfest a day earlier.

The bigger organizational news arrived in the same stretch, when Pittsburgh recalled right-hander Brandan Bidois. He had appeared in 15 games for Indianapolis with a 3-2 record, a 7.20 ERA and 23 strikeouts, and was set to become the third member of the 2026 Indians to make his major league debut. For Indianapolis, the night underscored both sides of Triple-A life: impact bats like Wendzel can keep a lineup alive, but one late defensive sequence can still decide everything.