Jorge Soler Swung at a Braves Pitcher on National TV and Got 7 Games, Lopez Got Off Easier
The Angels and Braves got into it Tuesday night in Anaheim, and MLB came down hard on Jorge Soler for his part in the mess. The Angels' designated hitter took a seven-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for charging the mound against Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez in the fifth inning of Atlanta's 7-2 win. Lopez? He got five games after MLB initially handed him seven, then reduced it on appeal.
Here's what set it off: Soler had already gone deep with a two-run shot in the first inning and got plunked on the left hand in the third. Then Lopez threw a high fastball that glanced off catcher Jonah Heim's glove and bounced to the backstop, letting Nolan Schanuel advance from first to second. Soler stared Lopez down for a few seconds, then decided he'd had enough and jogged straight to the mound. Both players squared up and started throwing punches, though none of them landed clean. Lopez was still holding the baseball in his right hand while throwing with it. It took Braves manager Walt Weiss actually tackling Soler on the first base line to finally get the thing broken up.
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Lopez was basically done for the night anyway, sitting at 80 pitches and 4 2/3 innings when it went down. He'd struck out seven and allowed two unearned runs on three hits and two walks. The real question now is whether Soler's appeal sticks. His suspension was supposed to start Wednesday's series finale, but filing that appeal paused the whole thing until it gets resolved.
Soler's got history with these Braves too. He was their 2021 World Series MVP before bouncing around to two other teams and even returning to Atlanta in 2024. Now he's landed with the Angels and already making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Watch to see if that appeal goes anywhere for Soler. The next few days will tell us if he sits down soon or plays on.
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