The tension between MLB stars Jorge Soler and Reynaldo López had been building all night before it finally exploded in the fifth inning on Tuesday, April 7.
According to Fox News, Soler had already taken López deep in the first inning and was hit on the hand by another pitch later in the game. When López followed that up with a fastball that sailed high and inside—so far inside that it skipped past catcher Jonah Heim and rolled to the backstop—Soler decided he had seen enough. He stood in the batter’s box for a moment, glaring toward the mound, before charging straight at López.
What followed was one of the wildest scenes of the young MLB season.
Soler dropped his bat and rushed the mound as López raised his arms in disbelief. Seconds later, the two former teammates were throwing punches while both dugouts emptied onto the field.
Neither appeared to land a clean shot, but the confrontation quickly turned into a full benches-clearing brawl near the first-base line.
Soler and López were teammates in Atlanta just two seasons ago, and Soler remains one of the most popular former Braves players after helping the club win the 2021 World Series and taking home World Series MVP honors.
He also has a long track record of success against López: Soler entered the game batting .609 against the right-hander with five home runs in 23 at-bats.
After the game, Braves manager Walt Weiss explained why he became an unlikely peacemaker. Weiss, who coached Soler during Atlanta’s 2021 championship run, sprinted into the scrum and tackled the Angels slugger before the fight could escalate.
“I love Soler. We were teammates here,” Weiss said. “But that’s a big man, and so I just felt I've gotta get him off his feet because he’s gonna hurt somebody.” Weiss added that Soler “was on a warpath.”
López insisted there was no intent behind the pitch, saying through a translator, “It’s just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded. On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point.”
Soler saw it differently. “After the home run and getting hit by a pitch after that, and then he missed way too high and close to my head,” Soler said. “At this level, you can’t miss like that.”
The game itself ended with Atlanta beating the Angels 7-2, but the fight became the story.
On Wednesday, April 8, Major League Baseball handed both Soler and López seven-game suspensions, though both players are expected to appeal.
