Astros’ Framber Valdez Says The Pitch That Hit Cesar Salazar Was Unintentional

Houston Astros starter Framber Valdez said he apologized to catcher Cesar Salazar after hitting him in the chest with a pitch during Tuesday night’s game, insisting he didn’t hit his teammate on purpose.

Valdez gave up a grand slam to the Yankees’ Trent Grisham in the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Before Valdez threw the pitch, Salazar urged the pitcher to step off the mound, but he proceeded with the pitch, ignoring the call.

Grisham hit the ball deep into left field, securing a 6-0 lead in the eventual 7-1 win against the Astros. Valdez hit Salazar with a 93 mph pitch on the second pitch to the next batter.

Salazar looked stunned after the incident and stared hard at Valdez from home plate. Valdez almost immediately turned back around to carry on with the game, raising questions on whether or not it was intentional.

“What happened with us, we just got crossed up,” Valdez said to reporters through an interpreter. “I called for that pitch, I threw it, and we got crossed up. We went down to the dugout, and I excused myself with him, and I said sorry to him, and I take full responsibility for that.”

Reporters directly asked Valdez if it was an accident or not.

“No,” he said. “It was not intentional.”

After the game, both players were called into the manager’s office to sort out the situation.

Salazar confirmed Valdez’s statement, telling reporters they have a good relationship. Reporters asked Salazar what happened with the pitch when he got hit.

“There was a good amount of Yankees fans, so it was pretty loud after the grand slam,” Salazar said. “Maybe my pitch count wasn’t in the right spot, so I pressed the wrong button, you know.”

Although both players confirmed it was nothing more than an accident, the incident did not look great for either of them, especially Valdez.