Dodgers forced Mets into absolute meltdown with Jorge López controversy

The Dodgers completed their sweep of the Mets on Thursday night in brutal fashion, putting up 10 runs (six in the eighth) while James Paxton and the bullpen kept New York to three runs, all attributed to Elieser Hernández, the second out of six relievers for LA to appear. Will Smith homered twice, young guns Andy Pages and Miguel Vargas gathered up RBI, Shohei Ohtani homered to drive in two, and even Jason Heyward got in on the action in the ninth to drive the nail further into the coffin.

The biggest story of the night began to unfold after López gave up the two-run homer to Ohtani and was facing Freddie Freeman, who he got to 3-1 before López threw a backfoot slider that Freeman flinched but didn't fully swing at. The swing was checked, the third base umpire confirmed he didn't go, and López argued the call heatedly until he was tossed from the game. On his way out, he threw his glove into the stands in frustration.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called the glove-throwing "unacceptable" after the game. López was asked to comment on it at his locker later. He told Steve Gelbs that he didn't regret it, and that he was "on the worst team in probably the whole f—king MLB." There was some confusion as to if he said 'team' or 'teammate,' but when asked him to clarify, López reportedly replied that he meant both.

Unsurprisingly, López was DFA'ed by the Mets the same night. That's what a Shohei Ohtani home run will do to a guy, evidently.

A Shohei Ohtani home run and Freddie Freeman checked swing caused a Mets meltdown of the highest proportion on Wednesday

The Mets aren't looking good, given the six straight dropped series, but they're also definitely not the worst team in MLB (that designation goes to the White Sox). López was understandably heated and emotional, but getting on SNY to publicly decry not only the organization but his teammates makes the Mets' hurry to DFA him pretty understandable.

He wasn't even primarily responsible for the Mets' implosion on Wednesday. He wasn't good, sure, but most of the blame falls on Ottavino, who gave up the Smith homer, Miguel Rojas single, and was responsible for the men on base when Vargas hit a two-run double.

Now, the Dodgers have the opportunity to do the funniest thing possible and pick López up on waivers. It probably (definitely) won't happen, but he'd probably be a lot happier on the Dodgers than the Mets.