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The Los Angeles Angels and the Atlanta Braves engaged in a fierce battle Tuesday night.
The incident occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and a runner on first base. Angels slugger Jorge Soler was at the plate facing Braves pitcher Reynaldo López.
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Jorge Soler of the Los Angeles Angels and Reynaldo López of the Atlanta Braves fought during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, California, April 7, 2026. (Ethan Swope/AP)
López threw a high, inside throw. The ball went over Jonah Heim’s glove, escaped the backstop and Heim was able to recover the ball and pull it to second base to try to steal second base to the runner. The throw was too late, but the fireworks started shortly after the throw.
Soler appeared to object to the field and charged at López. Soler was throwing haymakers, while López was throwing punches to push him away. Soler was tackled to the ground by Braves manager Walt Weiss before major damage was done and López was forced to leave the melee.
The Angels player received a standing ovation as he returned to the dugout following his immediate ejection.
“I love Soler. We were teammates here,” Weiss said. “But he’s a big man, and so I just felt like I had to make him move because he was going to hurt somebody. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and make Jorge move, yeah, because he was on the warpath.”
Weiss was an assistant coach for the Braves in 2021 when the Braves won the World Series. Soler was the World Series MVP that year. He and López were teammates in 2024.
Jorge Soler of the Los Angeles Angels is tackled to the ground by Atlanta Braves players as a fight breaks out during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, California, April 7, 2026. (Ethan Swope/AP)
“It’s just unfortunate, the situation and the way things played out,” López said through a translator, according to MLB.com. “For my part, it was never my intention to hit him, at any time. So, again, it’s just a shame.”
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Soler homered against López in the first inning. He is 14 for 23 with five homers and three doubles against López all-time.
“Obviously I have good numbers against him,” Soler said. “After the home run and after he got hit by a pitch, he missed too high and near my head. At this level, you can’t miss like that.”
Weiss said he understood the frustration.
“I know it didn’t look good because of Soler’s numbers against Lópey, and he hit a home run, he hit it. It didn’t look good,” Weiss said. “Lópey doesn’t throw pitches to him. I don’t allow our pitchers to throw pitches at people just because they can’t get them out. Our job is to get them out. But I understand why Soler got angry. And he’s a very gentle guy. So, I think the switch flipped for him.
A fight breaks out during the fifth inning of a baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Atlanta Braves in Anaheim, California, April 7, 2026. (Ethan Swope/AP)
“There was no intention. I just think Lópey is just spilling, because he had a hard time getting him out. But he’s definitely not trying to hit him.”
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Atlanta won the game Tuesday 7-2.
