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.

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.

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

Reds place Encarnacion-Strand on IL: The Cincinnati Reds placed first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the 10-day injured list Thursday with low back inflammation and recalled infielder Noelvi Marte from Triple-A Louisville.

Encarnacion-Strand is batting .158 this season with two homers and five RBIs in 18 games.

Rockies fire hitting coach: The Colorado Rockies fired hitting coach Hensley Meulens and replaced him with former manager Clint Hurdle on Thursday.

The Rockies are 3-15. They are hitting .220, tied for 27th with 12 homers and last with 52 runs.

The 57-year-old Meulens had been the club’s hitting coach under manager Bud Black since 2022.