Falcons invite Weiss to pads after Soler tackle

Atlanta Falcons invited Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss to join them after his tackle during a benches-clearing brawl in Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. The incident occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning of the Braves' 7-2 victory at Angel Stadium, when Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler charged the mound following a pitch from Braves starter Reynaldo López that brushed his head. Weiss, 62, sprinted from the dugout and leveled the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Soler with a textbook shoulder tackle.

The Falcons posted a screenshot of the play on X, captioning it: "Come put on the pads, Skip." Weiss later explained his actions prevented potential injury, noting his prior connection with Soler as teammates on Atlanta's 2021 World Series championship team, where Weiss served as an assistant coach and Soler earned most valuable player honors.

Weiss stated: "I love Soler. ... 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."

The Braves enter Thursday's series finale at 7-5; the Angels stand at 6-6. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. ET.