Falcons invite Braves' Weiss to pads after Soler tackle
Atlanta Falcons invited Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss to "put on the pads" after his tackle during a benches-clearing brawl in the Braves' 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The incident occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning at Angel Stadium on April 7, 2026, when Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler charged the mound following a pitch near his head from Braves starter Reynaldo López. The 62-year-old Weiss charged from the dugout and leveled the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Soler with a shoulder tackle.
Weiss aimed to neutralize Soler before he could injure anyone. "I love Soler. We were teammates here," Weiss said. "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."
Weiss and Soler previously connected on Atlanta's 2021 World Series-winning team, where Weiss served as an assistant coach and Soler earned most valuable player honors. The Falcons posted a screenshot of the tackle on X with the caption, "Come put on the pads, Skip."
Braves (7-5) and Angels (6-6) conclude their three-game series Thursday at 4:07 p.m. ET.
