Houston Astros' starting left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez seemed to deliberately throw the ball at catcher Cesar Salazar in today's match against the Yankees, a rare scene that drew attention from fans. Valdez refuted that it was on purpose after the game.

In the top of the 5th inning, facing Trent Grisham of the Yankees, Valdez, with a 1-0 count, appeared to shake his head and reject Salazar’s pitch call. Despite Salazar signaling to pause, Valdez threw the pitch anyway, which resulted in a grand slam. On the next batter, Valdez’s second pitch hit Salazar’s protective gear, sparking speculation about a breakdown in pitcher-catcher communication.

“We just mixed up the signs,” Valdez explained after the game. “I called for that pitch and threw it, but there was a misunderstanding. I apologized to him immediately back in the dugout and take full responsibility.” When asked if it was intentional, Valdez firmly replied, “No, absolutely not intentional.”

After the game, when the media entered the locker room, the pitcher-catcher duo was talking. Valdez stressed that they had cleared things up: “We talked, had a conversation by his locker after the game, and everything is fine now. This is something that happens in baseball, but we communicated and there’s no problem.”

Salazar was also asked about the situation and explained, “The stadium was very noisy at the time, I thought I pressed the right button, but I pressed the wrong one. So I expected a different pitch, but that wasn’t the case.” Salazar also clarified that Valdez did not do it intentionally, “Valdez and I actually have a very good relationship.”