MLB suspends Nationals reliever for endangering Pirates' Andrew McCutchen

Washington Nationals reliever Jorge Lopez learned an important lesson during Wednesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates: one does not intentionally throw at Andrew McCutchen and simply get away with it.

Major League Baseball announced Thursday morning that Lopez has been suspended for three games for his actions in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game. After first plunking Bryan Reynolds with a pitch, Lopez proceeded to hurl a 92 mph fastball near McCutchen's head, causing him to fall to the ground to avoid being hit.

While umpires gathered to discuss what the appropriate course of action would be for Lopez — a warning or an ejection — the right-hander made their decision for them. Lopez and McCutchen began to argue while the umpires convened, causing both benches to clear. While no physical fight ensued, both McCutchen and Tommy Pham had to be held back by teammate Oneil Cruz at different points during the benches-clearing incident.

Lopez was immediately ejected from the game, and Cruz went on to hit his first career grand slam later in the inning off of Eduardo Salazar to lift the Pirates to a 6-1 victory.

MLB suspends Nationals reliever for endangering Pirates' Andrew McCutchen

Through eight appearances this season, Lopez has a 10.57 ERA, 1.696 WHIP, 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.4 WAR. The 32-year-old is most recently pitched for the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs last year, where he went 2-3 with a 2.89 ERA, 1.226 WHIP, 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.9 WAR across 52 games.

Lopez, for his part, apologized for his actions immediately following Wednesday's game.

“I apologize for everything,” Lopez said, per the Washington Post. “I didn’t make any purpose pitch right there. I’ve been trying to find my way with my delivery, been trying to find my way through the whole season. It’s really miserable to have that happen. I regret what just happened.”

Lopez has filed an appeal on his three-game suspension, meaning he will be eligible for Washington's final game of the series Thursday against Pittsburgh as he awaits his hearing with the league. Nationals manager Dave Martinez has also been suspended for one game for his role in the scuffle; he is not allowed to appeal, and he will serve the suspension on Thursday as Nationals bench coach Michael Cairo takes over as Washington's manager in his absence.

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