Punches thrown between Soler, López as tensions boil over
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ANAHEIM -- The benches cleared for the Angels and Braves on Tuesday night after Jorge Soler took umbrage with Reynaldo López throwing up and to the backstop after Soler had homered in his first at-bat and was hit by a pitch in his second at-bat.
The two started at each other after that high pitch in the fifth inning before Soler eventually charged the mound and threw punches at López, who countered with a few of his own, though neither player seemed to connect on anything too solid. López was still holding the baseball in one hand as he threw punches with the other and knocked off Soler’s helmet with the ball still in his hand. The benches for both teams then cleared with a melee breaking out down the first-base line.
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Soler and López were both thrown out of the game as a result. Jeimer Candelario replaced Soler and struck out against reliever Tyler Kinley, who took over for López.
Soler has had immense career success against López, with his two-run homer in the first making him a career 14-for-23 hitter with five homers and three doubles against his former teammate with the Braves in 2024. López previously hit Soler with a 2-1 fastball that registered at 96 mph in the third inning.
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Nolan Schanuel advanced to second base after the pitch went to the backstop and that’s when Soler walked toward López and put his arms out, indicating he wanted to fight. The two scuffled at the mound before it moved toward the first-base line.
Braves manager Walt Weiss tackled Soler along with Braves catching coach Dustin Garneau, who played with the Angels in 2019. Angels superstar Mike Trout also got involved, holding back López, who was briefly his teammate on the Angels in ‘23 after he was acquired in a Trade Deadline deal.
Weiss and Soler also know each other from their time in Atlanta, as Weiss was bench coach in '21 when Soler was on the club and won World Series MVP honors. Soler and López were also teammates briefly with the Braves in ‘24 with Weiss as the bench coach.