A fight breaks out between Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López (40) and Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jorge Soler (12) during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium. William Navarro-Imagn Images

MLB suspends multiple players for wild Angels-Braves brawl

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Apr 9, 2026 8:01 AM ET

Major League Baseball has suspended Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jorge Soler and Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez for their scuffle in Anaheim on Tuesday.

ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan first reported Wednesday that Soler and Lopez had each been suspended seven games for their bench-clearing brawl.

MLB later reduced Lopez's suspension to five games. Soler, meanwhile, is appealing the decision, which will pause the punishment until the situation is resolved.

What spurred Jorge Soler-Reynaldo Lopez fight?

Soler and Lopez threw haymakers during the bottom of the fifth inning of Tuesday's game. The tension had been bubbling before the altercation.

Soler homered off Lopez in the first inning. The pitcher subsequently hit him with a pitch in the third inning, though it's unclear if that was retaliation for the earlier moonshot.

Los Angeles Angels DH Jorge Soler and Atlanta pitcher Reynaldo López have been suspended seven games for the big brawl in Anaheim last night in which Soler charged the mound and López punched him while holding a baseball in his hand.. Both are appealing.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 8, 2026

Regardless, Soler clearly felt Lopez was targeting him. He took umbrage with a high pitch in the fifth inning and exchanged words with the pitcher before charging the mound. Both threw punches, but neither appeared to land any. Lopez was still trying to hit Soler with the baseball in his hand, which knocked his helmet off.

Both benches then cleared. Braves manager Walt Weiss tackled Soler, preventing the fight from escalating further. When the situation settled, both players were ejected. Without two-time World Series champion Soler, the Angels collapsed, losing 7-2.

This is the pitch that Jorge Soler didn't like. He then charged the mound and threw punches at Reynaldo López who threw some back. Soler was hit by a fastball in the third after homering in the first. https://t.co/QzZJfbxPZy pic.twitter.com/NuV1Uo2x2e
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) April 8, 2026

Soler didn't call out Weiss, who he believed was trying to protect him. But he remained upset with Lopez, who he believed was throwing too high.

"I asked him if everything was OK, and the answer he gave me, I didn't like it," the Cuban outfielder said postgame through interpreter Jobel Jimenez, per MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger and Courtney Hollmon. "That's why I went out there."

Lopez insisted he wasn't trying to bean Soler and added that he regrets sparring with the outfielder.

"It's just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded," the Dominican Republican pitcher said through interpreter Franco Garcia. "On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So, again, it's just a shame."

Soler and Lopez were teammates in Atlanta in 2024, but there were no reports of a hostile relationship. It seems it was just a case of both players losing their tempers.

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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