López returned to the postseason with Houston in 1986, but he was the losing pitcher in Game Five of that year's National League Championship Series. By the end of his MLB career, López earned a 62–36 win–loss record, 93 saves and a 3.56 earned run average (ERA). After his retirement from baseball, López served as municipal president of his hometown of Tecamachalco, Puebla, Mexico from 1989 until his death. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1992. López was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame the following year.