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 stared at each other after that high pitch in the fifth inning of an eventual 7-2 Atlanta win before Soler 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. Both benches then cleared with a melee breaking out down the first-base line.
Soler, who was in good spirits after the game, said that López said something to him after the pitch that prompted the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder to charge the mound and go after the 6-foot-1, 225-pound López.
“I asked him if everything was OK and the answer he gave me, I didn’t like it,” Soler said through interpreter Jobel Jiménez. “That’s why I went out there.”
Soler and López, who were briefly teammates in the second half of the 2024 season with the Braves, 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. López previously hit Soler with a 2-1 fastball that registered at 96 mph in the third inning.
“Obviously, I have good numbers against him,” Soler said. “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.”
Nolan Schanuel advanced to second base after the pitch went to the backstop and that’s when Soler walked toward López, and López put his arms out before the two scuffled at the mound. López said he saw Soler staring at him after the pitch and said he didn’t have any issues with him before Tuesday, calling it all a misunderstanding.
“It's just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded,” López said through interpreter Franco García. “On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So, again, it's just a shame.”
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 the bench coach in '21, when Soler was on the club and won World Series MVP honors. Soler also played for the Braves in ‘24 with Weiss as the bench coach.
“We have a good relationship,” Soler said. “I don’t think he tried to do anything against me. We’re friends. I think he was just trying to protect me.”
Weiss said he was just trying to get Soler off his feet to make sure things didn’t escalate, and also said he didn’t believe anything was done on purpose by López. Weiss had noticeable bruising on his hand but said he was fortunate to hear all the players involved came out injury-free.
“I know it didn't look good because of Soler's numbers against López and he hit a homer and he hit him,” Weiss said. “López is not throwing at him. I don't allow our pitchers to throw at people just because they can't get them out. Our job is to get them out. But I understand why Soler got angry.”
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said he believes the incident is behind both teams, but understands why Soler did what he did. Soler said López didn’t have any control problems facing other hitters, hinting he believed López did it on purpose.
“I don't blame Jorge one bit,” Suzuki said. “You get thrown at your head, you have a family, a career. It's dangerous. I know it happens. But if you ask any hitter and a ball gets thrown near their head, especially after hitting a homer, it’s not good.”