Nats pitcher Jorge López suspended 3 games for throwing at Andrew McCutchen’s head

Washington Nationals pitcher Jorge López has been suspended three games and fined for throwing at Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.

López was ejected from Wednesday night’s game against the Pirates after a high pitch near McCutchen’s head led to the benches briefly clearing in the seventh inning.

López hit the previous batter, Bryan Reynolds, with a pitch before facing McCutchen, who had to fall to the ground to avoid getting hit by a 92 mph ball near his head.

The right-hander has filed an appeal of the suspension, which was set to begin Thursday but will not take effect until that process is done.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez received a fine and one-game suspension because of the incident.

Benches clear between Pirates and Nationals | Andrew McCutchen involved &

As the umpires gathered to discuss what happened during Wednesday’s game, McCutchen and López started arguing, which caused both benches to empty. Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham was also seen yelling while being held back by teammate Oneil Cruz.

In Tuesday’s game between the Pirates and Nationals, Bucs’ pitcher Mitch Keller struck Paul DeJong in the face with a 93 mph fastball, sending the infielder to the IL with a fractured nose after a night’s stay in a local hospital, per MLB.com.

Washington (7-11) concludes its four-game series at Pittsburgh (7-12) Thursday afternoon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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