It’s been a while since there has been a large brawl on the Major League Baseball diamond.

On Tuesday night, a massive brawl erupted between the Los Angeles Angels and the Atlanta Braves.

The incident occurred when Angels batter Jorge Soler charged the mound after Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez threw a pitch high and inside that tipped off Jonah Heim’s glove in the bottom of the fifth inning. As Soler approached the mound, Lopez, holding a baseball, hit him in the head.

According to MLB.com, Soler stated through an interpreter: “I asked him if everything was OK, and the answer he gave me, I didn’t like it. That’s why I went out there.”

The benches and bullpens emptied as players from both teams tried to separate the two. Atlanta manager Walt Weiss tackled Soler, while Braves catching coach Dustin Garneau also intervened. Angels superstar Mike Trout got involved in the fray, holding back Lopez, who was briefly a teammate on the Angels after being acquired in the 2023 Trade Deadline.

Weiss and Soler have known each other from their time in Atlanta: Weiss served as bench coach during Soler’s World Series MVP season in 2021. Soler also played for the Braves in 2024 with Weiss as the bench coach.

“We have a good relationship,” Soler said. “I don’t think he tried to do anything against me. We’re friends. I think he was just trying to protect me.”

Weiss clarified that he acted to get Soler off his feet and prevent escalation, and added that he did not believe Lopez intentionally targeted him. Weiss reported noticeable bruising on his hand but noted all players involved came out injury-free.

“I know it didn’t look good because of Soler’s numbers against Lopez,” Weiss said. “Lopez 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 stated he believes the incident was behind both teams but understands Soler’s actions.

Soler suggested that Lopez did not have control issues facing other hitters, hinting the pitcher intentionally targeted him.