Tension between Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez and catcher Cesar Salazar may have resulted in Valdez purposely hitting his teammate with a pitch on Tuesday, although he denied it. (Watch the video below.)
Video shows Salazar trying to stop Valdez from throwing a pitch to the New York Yankees’ Trent Grisham, but Valdez ignored him. Grisham hammered the meaty offering for a grand slam in the Yanks’ 7-1 victory.
Moments after the next batter, Anthony Volpe, stepped in, Salazar seemed unprepared for Valdez’s throw. The 90-mile-an-hour-plus pitch struck Salazar in the stomach.
Salazar appears to have glared at Valdez briefly, suggesting that Valdez threw a type of pitch that was not agreed upon.
The two spoke “emphatically” to each other in the clubhouse afterward, according to MLB.com. They were called into manager Joe Espada’s office, The Athletic reported, further hinting at raw feelings.
But Valdez insisted afterward that he did nothing wrong.
“We just got crossed up,” Valdez said through a translator, per MLB.com. “I called for that pitch, I threw it, and we got crossed up. When we went down to the dugout, I excused myself with him and I said sorry to him and I take full responsibility for that.”
Salazar backed him up and said that crowd noise may have contributed to the confusion.
