Reynaldo Lopez’s Suspension Reduced By MLB After Angels-Braves Brawl with Jorge Soler on Video

Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López reached a settlement with Major League Baseball to have his seven-game suspension reduced to five games upon appeal, according to Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

López and Los Angeles Angeles outfielder Jorge Soler were initially given identical seven-game suspensions after fighting during Tuesday’s 7-2 Atlanta win.

Soler also appealed his suspension and appeared in Wednesday’s matchup between the teams, homering for a second straight game.

The outfielder felt it was “intentional” when López threw up and in during Soler’s fifth-inning at-bat. He had homered off López in his first at-bat and was hit by a pitch in his second time at the dish. Soler has also raked against López during his career, going 14-for-23 with five homers and three doubles in those matchups.

“Obviously, I have good numbers against him,” he told reporters. “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.”

López denied trying to hit him.

“It’s just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded,” he told reporters. “On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So again, it’s just a shame.”

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss backed up López’s remarks.

“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,” he 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. … There was no intent there. I just think that Lopey’s just overthrowing, because he’s had a hard time getting him out. But he’s certainly not trying to hit him.”

L.A. manager Kurt Suzuki, meanwhile, backed up his player.

“I don’t blame Jorge one bit,” he said. “You get thrown at your head, you have a family, a career. It’s dangerous. I know it happens. But if you ask any hitter and a ball gets thrown near their head, especially after hitting a homer, it’s not good.”

It remains to be seen whether Soler will have his suspension reduced on appeal. As for López, he’ll be eligible to make his next start on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins.