There were plenty of fireworks during Tuesday night's game between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Angels.
During the bottom of the fifth inning, Angels slugger Jorge Soler charged the mound after Braves right-hander Reynaldo Lopez threw a 97 MPH pitch high and inside. Both benches cleared as several punches were thrown on the diamond. Unsurprisingly, Lopez and Soler were ejected after this fight was broken up.
"I asked him if everything was OK, and the answer he gave me, I didn't like it," Soler told reporters after the game. "That's why I went out there."
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Braves manager Walt Weiss turned plenty of heads during Tuesday's brawl because he successfully tackled Soler in an effort to defuse this brawl.
"I love Soler. We were teammates here," Weiss said. "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 told reporters that Lopez didn't intentionally throw at Soler during this heated at-bat.
"I know it didn't look good because of Soler's numbers against Lopey, and he hit a homer, he hit him. It didn't look good," Weiss said. "Lopey's not throwing at him. I don't allow our pitchers to throw at people just because they can't get 'em out. Our job is to get 'em out. But I understand why Soler got angry. And he's a really mild-mannered guy. So I think the switch flipped for him."
What'd the MLB have to say about this brawl?
The MLB just announced that Lopez and Soler have each been suspended seven games for their roles in Tuesday night's brawl. They've also been fined for their actions.
ESPN's Jeff Passan is reporting that both Lopez and Soler are appealing the league's decision.
As of now, the Angels won't have Soler back in the lineup until April 17 against the San Diego Padres.
