It took Andrew McCutchen four words to end meaningless feud with Nationals' Jorge López

Like any professional sports league, MLB is not immune to needless drama. That is exactly what transpired a week ago, on Apr. 17, when Washington Nationals reliever Jorge López appeared to intentionally throw at Pittsburgh Pirates veteran Andrew McCutchen.

López took the mound for Washington in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Pirates were up 1-0, which means López was tasked with keeping a slim margin in tact and giving the Nats a chance to mount a comeback in the late innings.

With a runner on second and two outs, López drilled Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds with a fastball at his elbow. That put two runners on with two outs for McCutchen, with a prime opportunity to crack the game open with a hit.

López offered up a couple breaking balls to even the count 1-1. Then, on the third pitch, McCutchen collapsed to the ground in order to avoid a sizzling fastball sent directly at his head. The former MVP and five-time All-Star was understandably upset.

Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton left the dugout to demand López's ejection. The umps convened to discuss, and as that conversation unfolded, the benches cleared. It was chaos, with López eventually booted from the game (and suspended afterward).

Andrew McCutchen doesn't appear eager to keep the beef going, however.

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Pirates' Andrew McCutchen absolves Nationals' Jorge López of alleged intentional HBP attempt

Jomboy Media did a nine-minute breakdown of the events leading up to and after López's high, inside pitch, claiming that McCutchen "knew" López threw at him on purpose. It's a convincing argument.

López (almost) hitting two batters back-to-back seems a little odd, especially when it would load the bases for the heart of Pittsburgh's lineup, but there's history. Reynolds and McCutchen walloped back-to-back home runs off of López last season, when he was with the Chicago Cubs. That moved Pittsburgh from an 0-3 hole to a 4-3 lead in the span of a few pitches. So there's reason to believe that López held some anger in his heart.

For what it's worth, though, the 32-year-old — who has been struggling all season — offered an apology to both Reynolds and McCutchen postgame after the incident, saying it was unintentional.

“I apologize for everything,” López told 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.”

Apparently, McCutchen accepts — even believes — López's account of the events.

"It wasn't on purpose," McCutchen wrote on X in reply to Jomboy Media's analysis.

López took a lot of heat from all sides after such a dangerous pitch, but it seems that all sides are ready to move on. McCutchen has been around the league a while. He knows how these things can spiral out of control. Credit to the 17-yeat vet for taking the path of peace and trying to put this in the rearview mirror.