Things heated up on a cold night in Pittsburgh.
Nationals reliever Jorge Lopez hit Pirates star Byran Reynolds before coming up and in on outfielder Andrew McCutchen, leaving both benches empty at PNC Park on Wednesday night.
After giving up two hits and two runs in the first two-thirds of the sixth inning, he drilled Reynolds with a first-pitch sinker.
Pirates and Nationals clear the benches after Jorge Lopez throws a pitch near Andrew McCutchen’s head. Lopez was ejected. Oneil Cruz had to hold back Tommy Pham pic.twitter.com/ZOZxmkxTLi— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 17, 2025
Then, three pitches later, Lopez came up high and nearly hit McCutchen in the head, but the 2013 NL MVP ducked out of the way to avoid the 92-mph sinker.
As the umpires converged to determine the best course of action, the Pirates’ bench and Lopez began barking, resulting in both benches meeting at the mound.
During all of this, Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham was held back by Oneil Cruz.
Things eventually settled down, with Lopez being ejected from the game.
It got worse for the righty, though, when McCutchen walked and Cruz followed with a grand slam, adding two more runs to Lopez’s total.
“I apologize for everything,” Lopez stated, according to the Washington Post. “I did not make a purpose pitch right there. I’ve been trying to figure out my delivery, as well as how to navigate the entire season. That is an extremely unpleasant situation. I’m sorry about what happened.
“I think our whole club, as you can see, got fired up,” Pirates’ Derek Shelton told reporters, according to MLB.com. “They took a little bit of offense to what happened, and because of it, it ended up sparking a big inning.”
This incident occurred less than a year after Lopez threw a glove into the stands after being ejected from Citi Field while a Mets player.
Following the game, Lopez appeared to refer to the Mets as either the “worst team probably in the whole f-king MLB” or the “worst teammate probably in the whole f-king MLB.”
Eventually, the Mets designated him for assignment.
Lopez later used social media to clarify the 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 stated. “During that interview, I expressed my dissatisfaction with my personal performance and how I believed it made me the worst teammate in the 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 appearances this season, he has a 10.57 ERA.
Pittsburgh won Wednesday’s game 6-1.
