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Jorge Soler-Reynaldo Lopez fight: Why Angels slugger, Braves pitcher could be facing suspensions after brawl originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
MLB saw its first significant fight and ejections of the 2026 season on Tuesday night.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez and Los Angeles Angels slugger Jorge Soler traded punches, with Soler charging the mound after taking a pitch high and inside. Braves manager Walt Weiss wound up being the one to help tackle Soler after the brawl began.
Both Soler and Lopez could receive MLB discipline in the coming days, including a potential suspension.
Here's a look at the Lopez-Soler fight in Braves vs. Angels and the latest on MLB's punishments for the brawl.
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Jorge Soler-Reynaldo Lopez fight
In the bottom of the fifth inning in Tuesday's matchup between the Braves and Angels, Atlanta's starter, Lopez, threw a high pitch that flew beyond his catcher's glove and onto the backstop. Soler, in response, stood and stared at Lopez, while there was still a play to be made by the catcher with a runner stealing second.
Lopez did not appear to notice Soler's stare at first, watching the tag at second base, but once Lopez turned his attention back to home plate, the two players began to glare at one another before Soler was seen shouting at the pitcher, approaching him.
“I asked him if everything was OK and the answer he gave me, I didn’t like it,” Soler said through an interpreter postgame, per MLB.com. “That’s why I went out there.”
Lopez held his hands up, and Soler charged, resulting in punches being thrown and both teams emptying their benches. Lopez and Soler were ejected.
"It's just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded," Lopez said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com. "On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So again, it's just a shame."
When Lopez landed a punch on Soler's helmet, he had a baseball in his hand.
In the game, Soler had already been hit by Lopez with a 96 mph pitch in the third inning and homered off him in the first inning. Over the players' careers, Soler has enjoyed plenty of success in the matchup — Soler is now 14-for-23 with five home runs and three doubles against Lopez.
“Obviously, I have good numbers against him,” Soler said, per MLB.com. “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.”
Braves manager Walt Weiss was the one who tackled Soler during the brawl, keeping him from throwing more punches. Soler spent time with Atlanta in 2021 and 2024, and he was a teammate of Lopez's for part of the 2024 season.
"I love Soler. We were teammates here," Weiss said postgame. "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."
Weiss also said his pitcher was not throwing at Soler.
“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, per MLB.com. “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, in his first season, said he understood why Soler was upset.
“I don't blame Jorge one bit,” Suzuki said, per MLB.com. “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.”
MORE:Why Willson Contreras threatened to "take out" Brewers player over HBP
Will Jorge Soler, Reynaldo Lopez be suspended?
MLB has not yet announced discipline for Soler or Lopez following their fight on Tuesday night.
However, it's likely that both players are punished in some fashion. The league typically hands out suspensions following fighting incidents; in 2025, the Nationals' Jorge Lopez was suspended for three games following a benches-clearing incident, the Padres' Robert Suarez was suspended two games for throwing at multiple Dodgers players, and the Mariners' Victor Robles was suspended 10 games for throwing a bat at a pitcher in Triple-A.
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