Angels' Soler, Braves' López throw punches in benches-clearing brawl

Tempers flared at Angel Stadium on Tuesday when Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler charged Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López to ignite a benches-clearing brawl.

Soler, who homered in the first inning, was unhappy after being hit by a pitch from López in the third. However, tensions rose further when López opened Soler's next at-bat in the fifth with a high-and-tight throw that was ruled a wild pitch. Soler stared down López and began walking toward the pitcher as the pair exchanged words. The confrontation then quickly escalated, with both players throwing punches and causing the benches and bullpens to empty.

Braves manager Walt Weiss helped end the fracas by tackling Soler.

"I love Soler. We were teammates here," Weiss said postgame, according to the Associated Press. "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. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and get Jorge off his feet, yeah, because he was on a warpath."

López threw a punch at Soler while still holding onto the baseball.

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

Soler disagreed with López's notion.

“Obviously, I have good numbers against him," Soler added. "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."

Soler and López were both ejected. Jeimer Candelario pinch-hit for Soler as the Angels' DH, while Tyler Kinley took over on the mound for Atlanta and struck out Candelario to end the inning.