Things got hot on a cold night in Pittsburgh.
Nationals reliever Jorge Lopez plunked Pirates star Byran Reynolds before coming up and in on outfielder Andrew McCutchen, leading to both benches emptying at PNC Park on Wednesday night.
After allowing two hits and two runs through the first two-thirds of the sixth inning, he drilled Reynolds on a first-pitch sinker.
Then, three pitches later, Lopez came up high and nearly hit McCutchen in the head, though the 2013 NL MVP quickly ducked out of the way to avoid the 92 mph sinker.
As the umpires converged to decide the best recourse, the Pirates’ bench and Lopez started barking, leading to both benches meeting at the mound.
In the middle of all of this, Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham had to be held back by Oneil Cruz.
Things eventually settled down, with Lopez getting tossed from the game.
It got worse for the righty, though, as McCutchen walked and Cruz followed that up with a grand slam, meaning two more runs were added to Lopez’s ledger.
This incident comes less than a year after Lopez’s notable glove toss into the stands after an ejection at Citi Field when he was a member of the Mets.
After the game, Lopez seemed to refer to the Mets as either the “worst team probably in the whole f–king MLB” or “worst teammate probably in the whole f–king MLB.”
He was eventually designated for assignment by the Mets.
Lopez later took to social media to clarify that incident.
“I also want to clarify my post-game remarks, because I had no intention of disparaging the New York Mets Organization,” the 31-year-old reliever wrote. “During that interview, I spoke candidly about my frustrations with my personal performance and how I felt it made me the worst teammate in the entire league.
“Unfortunately my efforts to address the media in English created some confusion and generated headlines that do not reflect what I was trying to express.”
In eight outings this year, he has a 10.57 ERA.
Pittsburgh ended Wednesday’s game with a 6-1 win.