Soler took exception to an up-and-in pitch from López several innings after getting hit in the hand


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Benches cleared Tuesday night at Angel Stadium between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels after Jorge Soler took exception to Reynaldo López throwing a pitch up and in and to the backstop in the fifth inning. Soler homered in his first at-bat and was hit by a pitch in the hand on the first pitch of his second at-bat.

The two stared at each other after the pitch, during which Nolan Schanuel advanced to second base, keeping other players on the infield occupied. Soler then approached López and the brawl broke out. Punches were thrown, though it is unclear if any connected. Braves manager Walt Weiss was among the first to enter the fracas and tackled Soler.

López and Soler were both ejected and received seven-game suspensions and undisclosed fines, MLB announced Wednesday. Both players are appealing the suspension, and López has already negotiated his down to five games, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. No others were disciplined. Here's the entire sequence:

"I asked him if everything was OK and the answer he gave me, I didn't like it. That's why I went out there," Soler told reporters after the game (via MLB.com). "... Obviously, I have good numbers against him. After the home run and getting hit by a pitch after that, and then he missed way too high and close to my head. At this level, you can't miss like that."

López and Soler were briefly teammates in 2024, when Soler returned to the Braves in a deadline trade with the San Francisco Giants. Including Tuesday, he is 14 for 23 (.609) with five home runs against López in his career.

"It's just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded," López said (via MLB.com). "On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So again, it's just a shame."

Soler also overlapped with Weiss during his time with the Braves. When asked about being tackled by Weiss, Soler told MLB.com: "We have a good relationship. I don't think he tried to do anything against me. We're friends. I think he was just trying to protect me."

Weiss told reporters that he was, in fact, trying to de-escalate the scuffle.

"I love Soler. We were teammates here," he said. "But that's a big man. I just felt I gotta get him off his feet because he's gonna hurt somebody. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and get Jorge off his feet, because he was on a warpath."

The Braves eventually won Tuesday's game 7-2 (box score). The two teams will wrap up the three-game series with the rubber game Wednesday afternoon. It will be their final meeting of the 2026 regular season.

Soler won World Series MVP with the Braves in 2021. He is 9 for 41 (.220) with two home runs in the early going this season. López has a 1.15 ERA in three starts.

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