A fight broke out during the Los Angeles Angels-Atlanta Braves game between Jorge Soler and Reynaldo Lopez, leading to their seven-game suspensions. 

The Braves won the game 7-2. 

In the bottom of the first, Soler hit a home run off a hanging slider from Lopez. During his next at-bat, Soler was hit by a pitch.

In his third at-bat, Lopez threw a pitch high and inside, close to Soler. Soler took offense to that and charged the mound. Both players were ejected for the fight. Tyler Kinley came in to pitch for the Braves while Jeimer Candelario pinch-hit for Soler. 

The Braves were already leading 4-2 when the fight happened. They extended their lead later with an Ozzie Albies home run, Drake Baldwin RBI single and Matt Olson RBI groundout. 

Austin Riley had a huge game for the Braves with two hits and one RBI. Riley has gotten off to a cold start to the season, as he currently has a batting average of .190. Jo Adell had two hits for the Angels. Adell made headlines earlier in the season when he hit three home runs against the Seattle Mariners. 

After the game, Lopez told reporters that he did not intend to throw at Soler. 

“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.”

Despite this, Braves manager Walt Weiss understood why Soler was mad.

“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.

The Atlanta Braves kicked off the MLB off-season with a bang Thursday, trading away veteran designated hitter Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels. In return, the Braves received young right-handed pitcher Griffin Canning.

Soler, who batted .241 in 2024 with 21 home runs and 64 RBIs, has bounced around a number of teams in recent years and still has some pop at age 32. His best years may be behind him, but he can provide some power to an Angels lineup that went quiet without Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in 2024.

Canning, meanwhile, has only appeared for the Angels in a limited capacity since his 2019 debut, has he has been consistently derailed by injuries. In 2024, however, he made his most appearances in a single season, making 31 starts. He finished with a 5.19 ERA and 6-13 record.

The Braves and Angels announced the trade just 14 hours after the World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers ended, hitting the ground running in what figures to be a busy off-season across the league. Juan Soto leads a talented stable of free agents that also includes Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes, Pete Alonso, Max Fried, Alex Bregman and many others. 

While trades and minor signings could come at any time between now and Opening Day, big free agent acquisitions will likely be delayed as player representatives sift through different offers and weigh their options. It would be unwise for Soto, for instance, to rush into any agreement if he is looking to maximize his contract for the 2025 season and beyond.

For the next month or so, small announcements like the Soler trade will trickle in while fans and insiders alike speculate on the futures of big free agents. It is a vastly different focus for baseball. One day removed from the World Series, one that was ultimately decided by role players and fundamental play, the entire league is now shifting into a mode of thinking in which the biggest names dominate theoretical projections and predictions. The vicious cycle continues. 

Former Miami Marlins right fielder Jorge Soler signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the San Francisco Giants last week.

Heading into his eleventh year in the major leagues, the near 32-year-old slugger will join his fifth team. Soler was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2014 and spent three seasons there, five with the Kansas City Royals, one with the Atlanta Braves after a midseason trade, and his two most recent and successful years with the Miami Marlins. After hitting 36 home runs on 137 plate appearances last season, Soler opted out of his final year with the Marlins and has landed in San Fransisco.

Soler was the 2021 World Series MVP for the Braves after hitting three home runs in five games against the Houston Astros. He made his first all-star appearance last year. Apart from his World Series performance in 2021, it’s been a while since he has played at this level, so it’s no surprise that he opted into free agency.

The Marlins used Soler primarily as a designated hitter over the last two seasons, and he is expected to take on a similar role with the Giants.

The Giants will hope that Soler adds some slugging power to the batting lineup to improve their 19th-place ranking in home runs in home runs at 174 and 27th in slugging percentage at .383%. The Giants haven’t had a player hit more than 30 home runs since Barry Bonds dropped 45 in 2004. That’s something Soler has done twice and certainly has the potential to achieve again next season.

To go along with his power though, there is a lot of swing-and-miss potential. Soler has been an up-and-down player for most of his career, so it will be interesting to see if he can produce consistent numbers at the plate in his three years with the Giants.

Jorge Soler, the former Atlanta Braves outfielder and 2021 World Series MVP, is being sued by a fan who claims that she suffered “excruciating injuries” after Soler threw a baseball in the stands during Game 3 of the 2021 World Series. 

Mayra Norris and her husband are suing both the Braves organization and Soler, who is now a Miami Marlins player.

The two have filed a ten-page complaint in Cobb County, Georgia, Superior Court about two years after the incident occurred. 

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that the baseball thrown by Soler hit Norris directly in her right eye. Injuries included multiple fractures, a right eye edema and an infra-orbital abrasion, which required surgery. Norris has received $60,000 worth of medical treatment due to the injury. 

They also claim that the Braves organization was “negligent in failing to keep the premises safe for visitors.”

The couple contend that the defendant didn’t softly toss the ball but rather threw it overhand with a great deal of speed and force.

Soler helped the Braves to a World Series title in 2021, in which he hit .300 with three home runs and six RBIs. His performances won him the World Series MVP.

The Atlanta Braves handed the Baltimore Orioles their 18th straight loss on Sunday. It was the longest losing streak since the Kansas City Royals lost 19 times in a row in 2005.

The loss on Sunday was the closest game that Baltimore has played recently. The 3-1 loss marked the third time that Baltimore had lost by two runs or fewer. Baltimore is three losses away from matching a franchise and American League record of 21 straight losses set in 1988.

Baltimore starting pitcher John Means pitched for six-plus innings and allowed three runs and four hits.

“I thought today was going to be the day,” Means said. “Felt good, felt like things were going in our favor, and it just didn’t happen.”

The Braves were the opposite of the Orioles as they won eight straight games heading into their Sunday win. However, despite Baltimore’s struggles, Braves manager Brian Snitker did not take them too lightly.

“These teams, they’re in a tough situation sometimes,” Snitker said. “It’s real easy to go into that situation and get swept before you know what the heck happened.”

This sentiment was echoed by Braves right-hand pitcher Touki Toussaint.

“We just take every win for what it is, and then [move] on to the next one,” Toussaint said. “We know how hard this game is.”

Atlanta took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Jorge Soler hit a solo home run to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead. Later in the same inning, Adam Duvall’s double made it 3-0. At the bottom of the fourth inning, Ramon Urias hit an RBI double with two outs for the only Baltimore run. The Orioles went 1 for 9 with men in scoring position.

“I have no problem with effort,” O’s manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re not winning games. We’re not executing. We’re very inexperienced. We got beat this series by good pitching.”

Atlanta has now won nine straight games and won 16 of their last 18 games. They have also won a franchise-record of 13 consecutive road games.

Opening Day of Major League Baseball will be here in the blink of an eye. With that being said, now is a great time to look at each team’s prognosis heading into the 2021 season, following the 60-game 2020 abbreviated season.

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The Kansas City Royals have gone 142-241 over the past three seasons. The only thing keeping the team out of last place is the fact that the Tigers have taken that spot. Over the past 36 years, Kansas City made the postseason three times and won the World Series two of those three times (1985 and 2015). The Royals made a few big signings in free agency, and staying above .500 would be ideal for them in 2021.

Here is Kansas City’s projected lineup.

Kansas City Royals Projected Batting Order

1. OF Whit Merrifield 
2. SS Adalberto Mondesi
3. OF Andrew Benintendi 
4. OF Jorge Soler 
5. 1B Carlos Santana
6. C Salvador Perez
7. 3B Hunter Dozier
8. OF Michael Taylor
9. 2B Nicky Lopez

Kansas City Royals Projected Pitching Staff

• SP1: Bradley Singer
• SP2: Kris Bubic 
• SP3: Mike Minor
• SP4: Danny Duffy
• SP5: Brad Keller
• CL: Greg Holland 

Kansas City Royals Team Outlook

During the offseason, the Royals made some significant moves to improve their 2021 outlook. Their top singings via free agency were first baseman Carlos Santana, outfielder Michael Taylor, and starting pitcher Mike Minor. Their biggest move of the offseason was arguably acquiring Andrew Benintendi in a three-way deal with the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox. In that trade, the Royals gave up outfielder Franch Cordero and outfielder Khalil Lee.

Regarding their offense, Kansas City has a core of solid batters including catcher Salvador Perez, outfielders Jorge Soler and Andrew Benintendi, first baseman Carlos Santana and shortstop Adalberto Mondesi. It should be noted that Whit Merrifield has been a solid leadoff batter over the past four years as well.

Things are looking up for their pitching staff, considering the success that has come from Brady Singer in 2020. They also have four more solid arms in their system including pitchers Kris Bubic, Jackson Kowar, Asa Lacy, and Daniel Lynch. The Royals look to improve in all aspects of the game, and they will likely reach .500 in 2021.

Kansas City Royals Schedule:

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