NASHVILLE (August 11, 2026) – Nashville earned a 6-5 ninth inning walk-off win on Tuesday night to start the series against the Indianapolis Indians at First Horizon Park. It was the fifth walk-off win of the year for the Sounds, who improved to a league-best 38-19 at home this season. Akil Baddoo's second hit of the night scored Blake Burke, who reached base three times in his Triple-A debut.
The Sounds answered an early run off Tyson Hardin in the top of the first inning with a pair of runs in the home half to take their first lead of the night. After the first three Nashville batters reached base to start the inning, Luis Matos delivered a two-out, two-RBI single. The game remained 2-1 until the Indians evened the score in the top of the fourth on two of the eight hits allowed by Hardin (4.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 0 BB). As they did in the first, Nashville answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Matos started the inning with his second hit and was followed aboard by Ethan Murray and a one-out single. After a successful double steal that put both in scoring position, Eduardo Garcia drove home both to put the Sounds back in front 4-2.
Hardin began the top of the fifth on the mound before turning the ball over to Will Childers after facing two batters. Bo Naylor helped his battery mate and caught a runner trying to swipe second, which proved large as Billy Cook hit a solo home run off Childers instead of a two-run run that would have tied the game. The Sounds maintained their one-run advantage into the seventh inning. Fresh off being reinstated from the Injured List that kept him out 43 games, Nick Yorke launched a go-ahead two-run home run off Brett Wichrowski for his first long ball of the season to give Indianapolis a 5-4 lead.
Burke kept the Sounds at the plate in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out walk. Brock Wilken was plunked right after and Baddoo drove home Burke - for the first time - to even the score at 5-5. Major League rehabber Joel Kuhnel tossed a scoreless eighth, working around a pair of hits and walk that loaded the bases with no outs. Nashville turned a 5-2-3 double play to prevent a run from crossing and Burke and Kuhnel combined for the third out of the inning to escape the jam without any damage done. Blake Holub retired the Indians in order in the top of the ninth with a strikeout to send the game to the bottom of the ninth.
Burke reached for the third time as he was hit by Noah Murdock to start the inning. Wilken singled with a base hit into right field to push Burke into scoring position and Baddoo took care of the rest. A flared an opposite field single into shallow left had Burke rounding third by the time Tyler Callihan fielded the ball. The throw to the plate tailed off into foul ground enough for Burke to cross the plate for the game-winning run standing up.
Nashville and Indianapolis continue their series on Wednesday night from first Horizon Park with LHP Colton Gordon (0-2, 4.91 ERA) getting the start against RHP Antwone Kelly (5-5, 4.24 ERA) and the Indians.
POSTGAME NOTES:
STAYIN' ON MY TIPPY MATOS: Luis Matos tallied his ninth multi-RB game of the season for the Sounds Tuesday night against Indianapolis with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the first inning. It was Matos' first multi-RBI game since July 26 at Sugar Land. The two RBI marked his 32nd of the season, which ties Tyler Black for the fifth-most on the current active roster. Matos' 2+ RBI night was the 102nd of his career since 2019. He also ranks fourth in doubles (11) and sixth in hits (54) for Nashville in 60 games played. The 26-year-old also collected his 13th multi-hit game of the season, tied for the third-most on the Nashville's current active roster. The multi-hit performance marked his second in his last six games, and third total in eight games in the month of August. He has recorded at least one multi-hit game in each of the last three series. He has posted a .239 batting average (54-for-226), 16 XBH, 32 RBI and 27 runs for the Sounds this season.
TRIPLE GREAT: Eduardo Garcia recorded his second multi-RBI game of his Triple-A career, ripping a two-run base knock into left field to give Nashville a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The multi-RBI night marked the 52nd of his career since 2019 and was his first since July 10 at Charlotte. Garcia has been lights out hitting .268 (11-for-41), adding four XBH and four RBI since the series finale at Sugar Land on July 26 and has added three multi-hit games during the span. He extended his hit-streak and on-base streak to four consecutive games on Tuesday night, finishing the game 1-for-4. Since the start of his professional campaign in 2019, Garcia ranks first in hits (460) and doubles (96), second in triples (17) and total bases (731), third in RBI (249), fourth in runs (264) and eighth in homers (47) among Brewers' minor league hitters.
WHAT IT BADDOO: Akil Baddoo went 2-for-5 with two RBI Tuesday night against Indianapolis. His two-RBI night have him up to 31st with Nashville, the third-most RBI with a Triple-A team in his career and the sixth-most overall in any professional season since 2016. He now ranks sixth in RBI among the Sounds' current active roster. Baddoo recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season for the Sounds and his second over his last six games played since the start of the Memphis series last week. Tuesday night was his 178th multi-hit game since the start of his career in 2016. He recorded a single-season career-high 29 multi-hit games during the 2018 season.
WALK ON HOME: The Sounds 6-5 walk-off win against the Indians Tuesday night was the fifth of the season and first since Luis Matos 2-RBI double in game one of a doubleheader against Jacksonville on July 4. The five walk-off wins are tied for the eighth-most in the International League this season (10th in Triple-A). Through 115 games, the Sounds five walk-off wins are tied for the sixth fewest in any season since 2005. The club set a season-high with 13 over the same span in 2023 and have 138 walk-off wins to rank sixth among all Triple-A teams since 2005. Akil Baddoo is the fifth different Sound to record a walk-off win this season, and Tuesday night marked his fifth career walk-off hit of his professional career and second in Triple-A. He also walked off the Indians with a RBI single on August 22, 2021.